中药现代化在系统生物学时代所面临的若干潜在危机

近几年系统生物学包括系统生物医学的发展很快。系统生物学相关学科的发展将在一定程度上逐步改进人们在生物技术上的研究手段和研制理念;系统生物医学正在逐渐把西药与中药联系起来,但是在这个联系的过程中蕴涵着中药现代化的重大危机。从其中的一个角度来看,中药是一种多位点定向或定点改变基因表达的技术;但是中药成分复杂,系统庞大,很难在几十年的时间内实现在基因水平上对中药的全面理解;而西药已经把基于基因网络和细胞信号传导系统结构的药物设计方法变成了常规技术。当基因网络相关的基础研究达到一定深度时,就可以发展一套成熟的多位点定向或定点改变基因表达的技术,很可能研制出中药化的配伍西药。从技术层面和研究资金强度上看,国际上大的生物制药公司实现西药中药化的目标已经准备了很好的条件,正在时间上与中药现代化进行赛跑并可能逐步与个体化医学接轨。

Potential Crises in Modernization of Chinese Materia Medica in Systems Biology Era

In recent years, systems biology including systems biomedicine is making fast progress, and is gradually changing the research method and philosophy in biotechnology. Systems biomedicine is connecting Western medicine with Chinese medicine, which brought modernization of Chinese materia medica to crises. To some extent, Chinese materia medica are multi-locus directional gene regulators, and it is difficult to get to complete understanding of the pharmacological mechanism of Chinese medicine on the gene level in decades of years, for the complicated ingredients and various kinds of Chinese material medica, while the methods based on gene network and cell signal transducting system are routine methods already in research of Western medicine. Progresses in basic research on gene network will promote the development of multi-locus directional or site-directed regulation of gene expression techniques, which may bring inovation of Chinese materia medica like compatibility of Western medicine into practice. International bio-pharmaceutical companies are now ready in technique and finance for researches on traditional Chinese medicine version of Western medicines.