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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Physiol.

Sec. Redox Physiology

Activation of the Pentose Phosphate Pathway by Microcurrent Stimulation Mediates Antioxidant Effects in Inflammation-Stimulated Macrophages

Provisionally accepted
Mikiko UemuraMikiko Uemura1,2Noriaki MaeshigeNoriaki Maeshige2*Atomu YamaguchiAtomu Yamaguchi2Xiaoqi MaXiaoqi Ma2Yunfei FuYunfei Fu2Taketo InoueTaketo Inoue2Mami MatsudaMami Matsuda3Yuya NishimuraYuya Nishimura3Tomohisa HasunumaTomohisa Hasunuma4Ji WangJi Wang5Hiroyo KondoHiroyo Kondo6Hidemi FujinoHidemi Fujino2
  • 1Department of Rehabilitation Science, Kansai University of Welfare Sciences, Kashiwara, Japan
  • 2Department of Rehabilitation Science, Kobe Daigaku, Kobe, Japan
  • 3Graduate School of Science, Technology and Innovation, Kobe Daigaku, Kobe, Japan
  • 4Engineering Biology Research Center, Kobe Daigaku, Kobe, Japan
  • 5Department of Toxicology and Sanitary Chemistry, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
  • 6Department of Nutrition, Faculty of Health and Nutrition, Shubun Daigaku, Ichinomiya, Japan

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Excessive inflammatory responses in macrophages lead to increased oxidative stress, and the excessive production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) causes tissue damage, contributing to the development of chronic diseases and tissue deterioration. Therefore, controlling the inflammatory response and ROS production is crucial for human health. Electrical stimulation (ES) has been shown to have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects on macrophages. However, the key pathway underlying these effects remains unclear. In this study, ES was applied to Lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated macrophages, and the production of ROS and 8-hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), inflammatory cytokine expression, and intracellular

Keywords: Microcurrent stimulation, Pentose phosphate pathway (PPP), NADPH, Oxidative Stress, macrophage, Glucose metablism

Received: 16 Jul 2025; Accepted: 27 Oct 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Uemura, Maeshige, Yamaguchi, Ma, Fu, Inoue, Matsuda, Nishimura, Hasunuma, Wang, Kondo and Fujino. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Noriaki Maeshige, nmaeshige@pearl.kobe-u.ac.jp

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Supplementary Material