Page 50 - Genomic Medicine in Emerging Economies

New Prospects—When Modern Technologies Meet Traditional Skills 39

that can in the near future account for individual and population variability
in these molecular TCM targets. Similarly, genome-wide association studies
(GWAS) can offer molecular leads on the molecular genetic substrates of the
TCM mechanism of action.

Application of Genomics Theory to
Support Acupuncture Practice
Acupuncture utilizes fine needles to pierce through specific anatomical points
(positioned “Jing”); Acupuncture has been extensively used and has emerged
as an important modality of complementary and alternative therapy to
Western medicine (Yan et al., 2013). Systems biology has become practically
available and resembles acupuncture in many aspects, and is a key technol-
ogy that serves as the major driving force for the translation of acupuncture
medicine into practice, and will advance acupuncture therapy into health care
for individuals. High-throughput genomics, proteomics, and metabolomics
in the context of systems biology have been able to identify potential candi-
dates for the effects of acupuncture and provide valuable information toward
understanding mechanisms of the therapy. To realize the full potential of
TCM acupuncture, the current status of principles and practice of acupuncture
should be integrated with the systems biology platform in the postgenomic era
(Zheng et al., 2010b). Some characteristic examples are presented to highlight
the application of this platform in omics and systems biology approaches to
acupuncture research as well as some of the necessary milestones for moving
acupuncture into mainstream health care (Zhang et al., 2013).

Application of Genomic Medicine to Investigate
Herb–Drug Interactions
In view of the increasing use of herbal medicines not only in China and
the Asia-Pacific region but also in many other parts of the world, includ-
ing Western countries, concerns have been raised about herb–drug interac-
tions. Pharmacogenomic studies are required for a better understanding of
the genomic components of kinetic and dynamic effects of TCM prepara-
tions and their physiochemical active ingredients. Similarly, more studies are
needed for the role of genetics for herb–drug and TCM-drug interactions (Hu
et al., 2012). Accumulating evidence has demonstrated that concurrent admin-
istration of herbal remedies may alter the pharmacokinetic or pharmacody-
namic behaviors of certain drugs, and thus severe adverse effects may occur
(Fugh-Berman, 2000). However, mechanisms underlying herb–drug interac-
tions remain an understudied area of pharmacokinetic and pharmacotherapy.
Systematic evaluation of herbal product–drug interaction liability, as is routine
for new drugs under development, necessitates identifying individual constitu-
ents from herbal products and characterizing the interaction potential of such
constituents (Brantley et al., 2013). Genomic approaches applied in herb–drug