针刺对COPD的治疗效应与其抑制慢性炎症反应相关，但针刺调控COPD慢性炎症的机制尚不清楚。研究发现COPD慢性炎症与NLRP3炎性体的过度激活相关。最近，研究显示多巴胺是NLRP3炎性体驱动的疾病的潜在治疗靶点，提示可能通过抑制NLRP3炎性体控制COPD慢性炎症。近来发现针刺的抗炎作用与针刺引起多巴胺分泌增多、抑制炎症因子的释放有关。基于上述背景，我们推测针刺治疗COPD的机制可能是通过多巴胺抑制NLRP3炎性体，从而调控COPD慢性炎症反应。本研究拟采用针刺足三里穴作为干预手段，选择性抑制多巴胺和去甲肾上腺素的产生、阻断多巴胺受体，观察针刺对COPD大鼠肺功能、肺组织形态学、炎症因子、多巴胺及NLRP3炎性体的影响，探讨针刺通过多巴胺抑制NLRP3炎性体调控COPD慢性炎症的作用。通过本项目，可望在神经-免疫学水平，部分阐明针刺治疗COPD的机制，为其临床应用提供实验依据和理论基础。

The therapeutic effect of acupuncture treating Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease （COPD）is related to its inhibition of chronic inflammation, but mechanism of acupuncture regulating chronic inflammation of COPD is still unclear. Studies found that chronic inflammation of COPD is associated with the excessive activation of NLRP3 inflammasome. Recent study revealed that dopamine is an potential therapeutic target of NLRP3 inflammasome driven diseases, which indicates the possibility of inhibiting NLRP3 inflammasome to control COPD chronic inflammation. Acupuncture have recently been shown to lead to an increase of dopamine and inhibition of the release of inflammatory factor. Based on the above background, we assume that the mechanism of acupunture treating COPD is that acupunture may control chronic inflammation through regulating dopamine and inhibiting NLRP3 inflammasome. In this study, electroacupuncture at the ST36 Zusanli acupoints will be employed as intervention to observe the effect of acupuncture on pulmonary function, morphology of lung tissue, inflammatory factors, dopamine and NLRP3 inflammasome. Then this study will explore the role of acupuncture regulating dopamine and inhibiting NLRP3 inflammasome to control COPD chronic inflammation by selectively reducing dopamine andnorepinephrine production and inhibiting dopamine receptors. This project aims to partly explain the mechanism of acupuncture treating COPD in the aspect of neuroimmunology, and provide experimental evidence and theoretical basis for its clinical application.