<p style="text-align: center;">Yuan Lu, Tingting Lv, Manwen Xu, Zhe Ma, Zhijun Weng, Hui Feng, Luyi Wu, Fang Zhang, Guanghong Ding, Huangan Wu, Huirong Liu</p><p style="text-align: center;">(1. Shanghai Institute of Acupuncture-Moxibustion and Meridian. 650 South WanPing Road, Shanghai, China. 200030; 2. Department of Mechanics and Engineering Science, Fudan University. 220 Handan Road, Shanghai, China. 200433; 3.Longhua Hospital, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. 725 South WanPing Road, Shanghai, China. 200030; 4. Guanghua Hospital. 540 Xinhua Road,&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align: center;">Shanghai, China. 200052)</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Abstract</strong>: <strong>Objective</strong>: To observe dopamine (DA)/dopamine receptor D1R in the colon, spinal dorsal horn and hypothalamus of a rat model of Crohn&#39;s disease (CD) by moxibustion at the Tian-shu（ST25）and Qihai（CV6）acupoints and to elucidate the mechanism&nbsp; of&nbsp; moxibustion&nbsp; in treating CD.&nbsp; Methods:&nbsp; The rats were randomly divided into the&nbsp; normal, model, herbal-partitioned moxibustion (Mox)&nbsp; and mesalazine (Mesa)groups. Damage in the colons was scored and observed by HE staining. DA/D1R expression in the colonic mucosa was detected by immunohistochemistry,&nbsp; which&nbsp; in the spinal dorsal horn and hypothalamus were measured by ELISA. D1R mRNA expression in the three sites&nbsp; was evaluated by real-time PCR.&nbsp; Results:Immunohistochemistry and ELISA results showed that&nbsp; DA/D1R expressions&nbsp; were&nbsp; significantly higher in themodel group&nbsp; than in the&nbsp; normal group&nbsp; (P&lt;0.01), and decreased in the Mox and Mesa groups compared to the model group (P&lt;0.01, P&lt;0.05).&nbsp; PCR showed the same results of&nbsp; D1R mRNA expression as DA/D1R.. Conclusion: Moxibustion at the Tian-shu&nbsp; (ST25) and Qi-hai (CV6) acupoints can relieve colitis in a CD rat, decrease&nbsp; DA/D1R&nbsp; mRNA&nbsp; expression&nbsp; in&nbsp; the&nbsp; intestine,&nbsp; spinal&nbsp; dorsal&nbsp; horn&nbsp; and&nbsp; hypothalamus.&nbsp; The&nbsp; antiinflammatory effect may be important mechanisms underlying the efficacy of moxibustion on CD.</p><p><strong>Key words</strong>：Acupuncture, Crohn&#39;s disease, Herbal-partitioned moxibustion, Dopamine, Dopaminereceptor</p><p><br/></p>