Clinical efficacy observation and proteomics of moxibustion in the treatment of menopausal obesity

Abstract Background Menopausal obesity is a type of obesity in women during menopause where the decline of ovarian function and the decrease of estrogen levels lead to an imbalance between energy intake and consumption in the body, resulting in fat accumulation and weight gain. Moxibustion, as a green therapy of non-interventional external treatment that prevents and treats diseases through thermal stimulation of relevant acupoints, has been widely used in clinical practice because of its simplicity, convenience, effectiveness, low price and high compliance. Purpose To clarify the pathogenesis of menopausal obesity and the biological mechanism of moxibustion treatment for menopausal obesity. Methods We selected 9 plasma samples from menopausal obese patients before and after moxibustion treatment, as well as 9 plasma samples from the healthy control group. After sample mixing and replication, DIA quantitative proteomics analysis was used to screen out differentially expressed proteins, and bioinformatics analysis was conducted. Results The plasma proteomic analysis revealed a significant increase in the protein expression levels of APOC2 and PZP in menopausal obesity patients. These differential proteins primarily participate in biological regulation, cell metabolism, and reproductive development processes. Their biological processes and molecular functions are mainly associated with enzyme inhibitor activity, calcium-dependent protein binding, lipid localization, and plasma lipoprotein particle assembly. The pathogenesis of menopause obesity is linked to the accumulation of visceral fat resulting from changes in sex hormone levels and reduced energy consumption following the decline of female ovarian function. Following moxibustion treatment, there was a notable down-regulation in the plasma levels of sialoglycoprotein receptor 2 (ASGR2), membranin A1 (ANXA1), and human heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein C (HNRNPC) among menopausal obesity patients. Their biological processes and molecular functions were primarily concentrated on intracellular hagy, nucleic acid binding, tissue regeneration, and neutrophil clearance. Conclusion The mechanism underlying moxibustion’s effectiveness in treating menopausal obesity may involve down-regulating HNRNPC expression, activating the PI3K/Akt/mTOR autophagy signaling pathway, regulating hormone levels to delay ovarian aging thereby improving lipid metabolism.