04/18/2026
Mechanistic Insights into Acupuncture for Chronic Prostatitis/Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome via Integrated Network
Topology and Bioinformatics Analysis
Methods: Acupuncture-induced bioactive substances relevant to CP/CPPS were identified
through a systematic literature search, and their putative high-affinity targets were predicted using the STRING database. CP/CPPS-associated genes were collected from GeneCards and DisGeNET with
integrated screening. Overlapping targets were obtained via Venn analysis. Protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks and an “Acupuncture-
Active Substance-Target-CP/CPPS” network were constructed in Cytoscape, and key targets were prioritized using the Maximal Clique Centrality (MCC) algorithm. Functional enrichment analyses
were performed using the Database for Annotation, Visualization and Integrated Discovery (DAVID), which is commonly used for gene functional annotation and enrichment analysis.
Results: We identified 655 shared targets between acupuncture-related components and CP/CPPS. PPI analysis highlighted IL6, IL1B, IFNG, TNE, IL10, CD4, IL4, CXCL10, IL2, and CXCL8 as the top hub targets, and enrichment yielded 1878 significant Gene Ontology (GO) terms, including 214 Kyoto
Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways.
Conclusion: Acupuncture may exert therapeutic effects in CP/CPPS through coordinated network-level regulation of immune inflammation, tissue repair, and central nervous system remodeling.
Link: https://www.dovepress.com/mechanistic-insights-into-acupuncture-for-chronic-prostatitischronic-p-peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-JPR