Page 49 - Genomic Medicine in Emerging Economies

38 CHAPTER 3: Genomics and Public Health: China’s Perspective

significantly up- or downregulated by artesunate indicates that artesunate may
not only inhibit iNOS, but also affect other NO-related genes. Microarray anal-
ysis also showed that the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway, which plays an
important role in colon cancer etiology, is regulated by artesunate, and colon
cancer cell lines are the most sensitive to artesunate among all solid tumor
cell lines. These results collectively suggest that artesunate might attenuate the
growth of human colorectal carcinoma by inhibition of the Wnt/β-catenin
pathway (Konkimalla et al., 2008).
Nuclear factor-kB (NF-kB) is critically important for tumor cell survival,
growth, angiogenesis, and metastasis. One of the key events in the NF-kB sig-
naling is the activation of the inhibitor of NF-kB kinase (IKK) in response to
stimuli of various cytokines. The root of Euphorbia fischeriana Steud. has been
used as a traditional Chinese herb for more than 2000 years. The compound
17-acetoxyjolkinolide B (17-AJB), one of the components of E. fischeriana
Steud., is a novel small molecule inhibitor of IKK. Indeed, 17-AJB has been
shown to effectively inhibit tumor necrosis factor-A-induced NF-kB activated
ion and induce apoptosis of tumor cells. Detailed analysis revealed that 17-AJB
keeps IKK in its phosphorylated form irreversibly to inactivate its kinase activ-
ity, leading to its failure to activate NF-kB. The effect of 17-AJB on IKK is spe-
cific and has no effect on other kinases such as p38, p44/42, and JNK. The
effects of 17-AJB on apoptosis also correlate with inhibitions of expressions
of the NF-kB-regulated genes. It is suggested that 17-AJB is a novel type NF-kB
pathway inhibitor, and its unique interaction mechanism with IKK may render
it a strong apoptosis inducer of tumor cells and a novel type anticancer drug
candidate (Yan et al., 2008).

Certain types of mushrooms are also considered as Chinese herbs and have
widely been used as dietary supplements in the United States. Recent stud-
ies demonstrated that mushroom intake could protect against cancer, which
might be linked to the modulation of the immune system (Wasser, 2002).
Using DNA microarray analysis, Jiang and Sliva (2010) have found that mush-
room could inhibit expression of genes involved in cell cycle regulation, thus
inhibiting the invasiveness of breast cancer.
It is interesting to note that Jing (Meridian) theory is one of the foundational
principles of TCM where the concept of Jing plays a central role. Presumably,
the Jing concept refers to the genetic information as well as to its plasticity, as
Jing is thought to be “the substance essential for development, growth, and
maturation,” and “conception is made possible by the power of Jing, growth
to maturity is the blossoming of Jing, and the decline into old age reflects
the weakening of the Jing” (Hu et al., 2012). With the availability of func-
tional genomics and proteomics, it is now possible to examine the precise
molecular targets impacted by TCM preparations and related health interven-
tions. Ultimately, this can lead to a more evidence-informed practice of TCM