基于生物网络的中医药学原理探索

Biological network-based exploration of the principles of traditional Chinese medicine

中医药生物学基础不清、方剂作用机制不明、缺乏符合中医药整体特点的研究方法学体系是中医药现代化研究面临的关键瓶颈.随着信息学与系统生物学等新兴学科的发展,以生物网络为切入点开展中医药学与人工智能、大数据、信息学等前沿科学技术的交叉研究,成为探索中医药科学原理、促进中医药现代化的重要途径.基于生物网络的“网络靶标”理论有望突破宏微观内在关联解析的鸿沟,实现还原论和整体论的有机融合,架起传统中医与现代医学研究桥梁,成为探索中医药学原理的突破口之一.“寒、热”等中医药核心诊疗概念、治未病等中医特色理论的科学内涵阐明是解读中医药学原理的重要组成部分.本文基于李梢课题组的研究,综述了基于生物网络的中医药研究理论与技术方法,及其应用于“寒、热”“治未病”等中医特色理论的病证结合科学原理探索所取得的进展,以期为利用现代科学技术解读中医药学原理,促进中医药现代化提供参考.

The clinical application of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) relies on herbal formulas as the main form of prescription.The holistic effect of TCM treatment is a significant advantage in treating complex diseases,but also makes comprehension of the scientific principles of TCM challenging.There is an urgent need to establish new theories and methods in line with the holistic characteristics of TCM to address the needs of research regarding the complex relationship between the chemical constituents of TCM formulas and biological systems.The biological basis of TCM theory and the mechanism of action of TCM formula are not well understood.For a long time,there was a lack of holistic research methods and theories in TCM.The development of TCM has been severely hampered by these factors.Recently,emerging disciplines such as informatics and systems biology have made significant progress.Conducting intersecting research between TCM and cutting-edge science and technology,such as artificial intelligence,big data,and informatics,based on biological network,is becoming increasingly important.Multidisciplinary cross-research has become an important way to explore the scientific principles of TCM.Biological network-based “network target” theory breaks through the gap between macro-and microintrinsic correlation analysis,achieving organic integration of reductionism and holism.This brings new possibilities to explore the principles of TCM from a holistic perspective and bridge modern medicine with TCM.“Cold” and “Hot” are the core diagnostic and therapeutic concepts of TCM,and “treating pre-disease” is a distinctive theory thereof.The scientific principles of these TCM theories need to be explored by modern science and technology.Recently,biological network-based techniques,such as graphical neural networks,have been applied to the elucidation of the biological basis of TCM syndrome,the analysis of the mechanism of action of TCM formulas,and the discovery of biomarkers.Precision prevention and treatment in TCM and precision research and development of TCM formulae have made remarkable progress due to the further elucidation of the principles of TCM.We aimed to review the theory and methodology of TCM research based on biological network,and its application in the interpretation of the scientific basis of disease-syndrome combination of the distinctive TCM theories such as “Cold/Hot” and “treating pre-disease”.The elucidation of TCM principles from a biological network perspective requires high-quality TCM big data.In the future,research on the principles of TCM based on the biological network should first obtain high-quality TCM big data,combined with constant development and updating of algorithms to build more accurate prediction models.The established methods should be tested in experiments and clinics,enabling the development of artificial intelligence and big data to truly enhance the scientific and translational research of TCM.Based on the research progress from Shao Li's lab,this review provides an upto-date overview of the use modern science and technology to interpret the principles of TCM and promote the modernization of TCM from the perspective of the biological network.