Drug screening strategy at post-genome era with Chinese traditional theory

of materia medica
Xiao Ming Wang
Hubei College of Traditional Chinese Medicine
E-mail: shermanwang@yahoo.com.cn, foxglove@163.com

Abstract:

Section: #44. Philosophy of Nature

The author first gives the definition of a life. A life has five characteristics: grow, reproduce itself,
adjust and repair itself, can be killed, age to die. He first explained why and how development of
life. He concluded: life development consists three aspects: life species evolution, life type
specialization, life level multiplication. He proposed a strategy to screen drug bioactivity and
give an explanation of Chinese Traditional theory of Materia medica in modern concept. The
best drug to treat a disease life consists of the components or functions of Monarch drug,
minister drug, assistant drug and guide drug.

1. Introduction

Drugs are very important substances for human survival on the earth. Human have long

history using drugs to treat and prevent diseases. Approach to drug therapeutics was entirely

empirical before the mid-19th century. Nowadays, there are about 6,000 chemical entity and

15,000 natural products had used as drugs. It is still a great challenge for us to find good drugs

to treat some diseases today (antitumor. antiHIV). Drug discovery is an arduous job. More than

50,000 new chemical compounds may be screened out one commercial benefit clinical drug,

needed 500,000,000 dollar investment and 5~8 year periods. With the development of science

and technology, human has accumulated a lot of knowledge about human body and other

organisms. We have known DNA sequences of whole human body, although we do not

understand the all functions of each pieces of DNA. Scientists are now working to find out the

relations between each pieces of DNA with its functions and regulations. The knowledge of

physiology and pathology of human body in molecular level is also important for drug research.

We say today is post-genome era because human have accumulated so much information and

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knowledge about human life. Thus, we should have better ideas to search chemical compounds

to therapy diseases. Drug discovery need not merely to innovate new techniques to obtain a

large number of new chemicals and to develop high-through-put bioactivity screening. The

mainly important questions that we need to determine are what kinds of bioactivity can be useful

as a drug more quickly and efficiently and how to set up strategy to use them to therapy

diseases more safely and rationally

2. The definition of a life

That drugs therapy diseases is not like repairing a car. Drug treat disease is to restore and

prolong patient’s life or alleviate his pain. But what is a life? It seems a very difficult question to

answer. People have asked this question for thousand years. Aristotle and Erwin Schrödinger

were great interested in this question. It is a basic question for us to understand all phenomena

of living organisms on the earth. It is also a key question for human whether or not can set up a

life in other planets. Since life is such an ubiquitous and fundamental concept, the definition of it

is very useful. If we can correctly give a definition of life, we can understand not only the

organisms existed in past on earth but also will know how the organisms will develop in future. It

will help us to understand the other organisms surrounded ourselves. To help us explain the

physiology and pathology of human in molecular level. And it also makes us to understand the

functions of our body and directs us to discover drugs to treat diseases when our lives

developing. It may give ideas suggesting the pathways of chemical evolution of lives on earth. It

leads us understand the ecology on earth and function of human society.

People may define life in different ways for different purposes. But we would be for an

understanding of that very important essence that inheres in all lives. We will need to

generalize our concept of what a life.

Human have accumulated a great deal of information and knowledge about lives on earth. It
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is a very important to give a definition of life. The definition should be sufficiency, common

usage, extensibility, simplicity and objectivity. Although a great deal is known about life, there is

no generally accepted definition of life. It is very obvious that life has properties, which clearly

distinguish it from everything else. Life on earth is mainly composed of four elements: carbon,

hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen. There are many biochemical reactions in organisms. What are

the characteristics that a life organism has but a death organism and inoganism have not? It is

an important question for us to understand what a life. We say that life is consisted of series

biochemical reactions. But series biochemical reactions may not be a life. Let us analysis the

characteristics of a life organism.

First, every life body can grow. It means that a life body can be from small to big. The lives

on earth all come from a small. But a body can from small to big may not alive. For instance, a

balloon can from small to big. A crystal can grow.

Second, every life can reproduce by itself. That means every life can from one life to

become two life or more, from one generation to second generation. Many scientists are

perplexed by the phenomena of life reproduction. A man can reproduce himself? We know

every cell can reproduce itself. Why a man cannot reproduce himself? Most scholars do not

understand that a man and a cell are at different life level. Millions cells of a man can reproduce

themselves. The reproduction of a man needs to organize a high level life: a family life. But

something can reproduce itself maybe not a life. DNA can reproduce itself. It is not a life.

Computer virus also can reproduce itself.

Third, every life body can adjust and repair itself. That means every life organism has ability

to adjust to the outside stimulator and can repair itself if it is hurt in some extent. Also,

something can adjust itself to outside stimulator maybe not life, man-made robot have such

ability. We know it not a life.

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 Fourth, many life organisms can age to die. Is this a characteristic of a life? Actually we can

say every life organism may age to die. What is dying of a life organism? The answer is that if a

life body can not grow or not reproduce, not adjust and repair itself. Age to die means a life may

go through a period of time, it die itself. Some non-life materials or phenomena may look similar

to age to die. For instances, wood fire out, iron rust, shoes wear out, etc.

Fifth, every life organisms can be killed to die. That organisms be killed means many

materials or methods or factors can make it not grow, not reproduce. Many scientists and

philosophers have paid no attention to this characteristic of a life. A very small cause may make

a life to death. It is a very basic property for us to understand the life phenomena. But a very

small cause may also make a big machine stop.

Considering a life organism, we can understand that very a life has such five characteristics.

Can we say anybody is a life if it has such five characteristics? The answer is yes. A cell is a life.

A tree is a life. A family is a life. A company is a life. A nation is a life. An ecosystem is a life. All

lives on earth organize a biosphere. The biosphere is a life. This is James Lovelock’s famous

Gaia hypothesis. But the lives are at different levels. All level lives have such five

characteristics. A life can exist only one time. So we can infer that any a thing or any a body if it

has such five characteristics, it is a life. In the universe, or on other planets, if any a thing,

whatever elements it is made of, has such five characteristics, we can say it a life body.

3. Development of life

An organism has a life. That means this organism can grow, reproduce itself and age to die.

A new life may have such process: birth, grow, reproduce and age to die. We say this process a

life cycle. Every species organism on earth has himself or herself life cycle. Why do we say life

can be killed is a basic characteristic? Because a life organism we say it a life can adjust and

repair itself to avoid being killed. There are many factors can make a life being killed. This is
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main basic reason that the life on earth develops to many species, many types and many levels.

We understand that cell is the basic unit of life on earth. Most organisms are made of cells.

Each cell is a life. Cell metabolism need to adjust to make it to survive when the circumstance

change. An organism maybe consists of many cells; it needs to adjust every cells to

accommodate to circumstance change as a whole life. Every life is developing. They made the

circumstance change of each life. Every life is from small to big. They made the shortage of

space, materials and energy. So, life develops to use different space, materials and energy. Life

competes to use space, materials and energy. Some life competes to adjust to use other space,

materials and energy. This is the life species evolution. Some life competes to adjust itself to

use space, materials and energy more effectively. They differentiate to different types. The

different types compete to specialize to different functions. They organize to a high life level to

survive. The lives may organize more life levels. This can maintain circumstance stability which

benefit for all lives existing when solar energy transmit to earth. They use solar energy and

transform energy as a special style more efficiently.

Let us see human body. Human evolve to use different energy and materials comparing with

other animals for survival. Each cell of human body differentiates to different cell types. Each

cell type has different functions. All these cells organize a human body life. Man and woman

organize a family life. People differentiate to do different works. All people lives organize a

society life. Many society lives organize a nation life. Many nation lives organize a country life.

The definition of a life can lead us more easily to understand the functions of the different

cells of human body, the physiology of human body and of the different species, the ecology of

earth. We can more easier to predict what different cell types may have and what kind of

pathways and proteins to set up the functions that the whole life need to survive.

So, life development consist three aspects: life species evolution, life type specialization,
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and life level multiplication.

4. Diseases and Drug

We know that a human body life consists of two levels: cell level and whole body level.

Each level has ability: grow, reproduce, adjust and repair, be killed, age to die. Our body has

many metabolisms in each cell and regulations between cells. Different cells have different

functions. They work together to maintain whole body to survive in different seasons on earth.

Everything is balance in a healthy body life. Each biochemical reactions in cells are balance.

The regulations between cells make all cell function balance. That makes every organs of our

body to work. Thus the whole body can survive on earth. Many reasons can cause unbalance in

metabolism. For instance, shortage of nutrition, weather changes, other organisms invasion etc.

If something causes an unbalance in some biochemical reactions in a cell, there two levels to

adjust and repair it. An unbalance reaction triggers a series of biochemical reactions. These

reactions may cause dysfunctions of some cells and organs. This man is ill. If the unbalance

can be repaired by the cell lives and body life, he just needs to take a rest. If the unbalance

cannot be repaired, the patient has got disease. He needs drugs to treat the disease. Drugs are

chemical compounds that can restore balance. They may have three kind functions to treat

biochemical metabolisms: activate biochemical reaction, inhibit biochemical reaction, or stop

biochemical reaction. All drugs from out of patient body enter to an unbalance place to treat it.

Our body has many cells. How could drugs from out of body reach the unbalance place of some

cell without hurt other cells of body? So we do our best to find the chemical which has the

function to treat unbalance biochemical reaction and less hurt other cells from more than 50,000

new chemicals. It is a hard task. We may success or fail. How to find and find what kind

bioactivity of drug that can best treat a disease and least hurt other cells is our great job.

5. Drug screening strategy and Chinese Traditional theory of Materia medica

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 Chinese has more than 5000 year history using natural products to treat diseases. Ancient

Chinese doctors used a formula prescription to therapy a disease. The formula consists of

monarch drug, minister drug, assistant drug and guide drug. This is Chinese Traditional theory

of Materia medica. West Country doctors may be confused why they used this formula to treat a

disease. Also no Chinese scholar has given clear explanation yet. In this article, I will give an

explanation of Chinese Traditional theory of Materia medica in modern concept. Monarch drug

are chemical components that can treat main problem (key unbalance) that may kill the disease

life. Minister drug are chemical components which help Monarch drug arrive the disease (key

unbalance) place. Assistant drug are chemical components that protect other cell lives that may

be hurt by monarch drug, minister drug and guide drug. Guide drug are bioactive to find the

factor that cause disease (first unbalance) and treat it. So, the best drug to treat a disease life

consists of monarch drug, minister drug, assistant drug and guide drug. Drug screening strategy

is to find bioactivity of chemicals with the function of monarch drug, minister drug, assistant drug

and guide drug. This strategy can be used to treat any level disease life.

References

Joseph Morales The Definition of Life Psychozoan: A Journal of Culture Copyright 1998

http://www.baharna.com/philos/life.htm

Daniel E Koshland Jr The seven pillars of life. Science. Washington: Mar 22, 2002. Vol. 295,

Iss. 5563; pg. 2215, 2 pgs

Definition of life Encyclopedia Britannica 2007 Ultimate Reference Suite