Mechanistic Insights into Acupuncture for Chronic Prostatitis/Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome via Integrated Network Topology and Bioinformatics Analysis

Background: Chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS) is a heterogeneous condition with limited ideal therapeutic options. Acupuncture has shown clinical benefits for CP/CPPS, yet its molecular basis remains insufficiently characterized. Purpose: To elucidate potential molecular mechanisms of acupuncture in CP/CPPS using a network acupuncture strategy. 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, TNF, 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. Keywords: acupuncture therapy, prostatitis, data mining, protein interaction maps