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Copyright © 2012 Li-Ling Lin et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License (the “License”), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Abstract

Meridians, acupoints, and Chinese herbs are important components of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). They have been used for disease treatment and prevention and as alternative and complementary therapies. Systems biology integrates omics data, such as transcriptional, proteomic, and metabolomics data, in order to obtain a more global and complete picture of biological activity. To further understand the existence and functions of the three components above, we reviewed relevant research in the systems biology literature and found many recent studies that indicate the value of acupuncture and Chinese herbs. Acupuncture is useful in pain moderation and relieves various symptoms arising from acute spinal cord injury and acute ischemic stroke. Moreover, Chinese herbal extracts have been linked to wound repair, the alleviation of postmenopausal osteoporosis severity, and anti-tumor effects, among others. Different acupoints, variations in treatment duration, and herbal extracts can be used to alleviate various symptoms and conditions and to regulate biological pathways by altering gene and protein expression. Our paper demonstrates how systems biology has helped to establish a platform for investigating the efficacy of TCM in treating different diseases and improving treatment strategies.

Details

Title
Systems Biology of Meridians, Acupoints, and Chinese Herbs in Disease
Author
Li-Ling, Lin 1 ; Wang, Ya-Hui 2 ; Chi-Yu, Lai 2 ; Chan-Lao, Chau 3 ; Guan-Chin, Su 4 ; Chun-Yi, Yang 4 ; Shu-Ying, Lou 1 ; Chen, Szu-Kai 5 ; Kuan-Hao Hsu 5 ; Yen-Ling, Lai 1 ; Wei-Ming, Wu 6 ; Jian-Long, Huang 7 ; Liao, Chih-Hsin 1 ; Hsueh-Fen Juan 8 

 Department of Life Science, National Taiwan University, No. 1, Section 4, Roosevelt Road, Taipei 106, Taiwan 
 Graduate Institute of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei 100, Taiwan 
 Department of Bioenvironmental Systems Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei 106, Taiwan 
 Institute of Biochemical Sciences, National Taiwan University, Taipei 106, Taiwan 
 Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biology, National Taiwan University, No. 1, Section 4, Roosevelt Road, Taipei 106, Taiwan 
 Department of Biochemical Science and Technology, National Taiwan University, Taipei 106, Taiwan 
 Graduate Institute of Biomedical Electronic and Bioinformatics, National Taiwan University, No. 1, Section 4, Roosevelt Road, Taipei 106, Taiwan 
 Department of Life Science, National Taiwan University, No. 1, Section 4, Roosevelt Road, Taipei 106, Taiwan; Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biology, National Taiwan University, No. 1, Section 4, Roosevelt Road, Taipei 106, Taiwan; Graduate Institute of Biomedical Electronic and Bioinformatics, National Taiwan University, No. 1, Section 4, Roosevelt Road, Taipei 106, Taiwan 
Editor
Wolfgang Schwarz
Publication year
2012
Publication date
2012
Publisher
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
ISSN
1741427X
e-ISSN
17414288
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2060808943
Copyright
Copyright © 2012 Li-Ling Lin et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License (the “License”), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/