Liu Yufeng, Ai Ni, Liao Jie, Fan Xiaohui
Pharmaceutical Informatics Institute, College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China.
Biomark Med. 2015;9(11):1201-13. doi: 10.2217/bmm.15.91. Epub 2015 Oct 26.
The systemic effects of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) seem to be a Gordian knot, impossible to untie for decades. With the advent of transcriptomics, a useful sword is provided to cut the knot and shed some light on complex bioprocesses and intrinsic connections among them. Here, we revisit studies on TCM ZHENGs using this approach, highlight its applications on elucidating the potential scientific basis of ZHENG and investigating mechanisms of action for the TCM formula, and demonstrating its unique role in novel TCM drug design and discovery through active ingredient detection from TCM and compatibility theory study of TCM. The limitations and future perspectives of transcriptomics approaches to TCM study are also discussed.
中药的系统效应似乎是一个几十年来都无法解开的难题。随着转录组学的出现，为解开这个难题提供了一把有用的利刃，从而揭示复杂的生物过程及其内在联系。在此，我们运用这种方法重新审视关于中医证的研究，强调其在阐明证的潜在科学基础、研究中药方剂作用机制以及通过中药活性成分检测和中药配伍理论研究在新型中药药物设计与发现中所发挥的独特作用。同时，也讨论了转录组学方法在中医研究中的局限性和未来展望。
