Stem cells and congenital essence of the basic theory of traditional Chinese medicine
- VernacularTitle:干细胞与中医基础理论中的先天之精学说
- Author:
Jin ZHANG
;
Zhiwei XU
;
Qun CHEN
;
Fuping DING
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- From:
Chinese Journal of Tissue Engineering Research
2006;10(7):189-192
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
BACKGROUND: To discuss the basic theory of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) related to stem cell for a try to offer a new combining site +for the modernization research of the basic theory of TCM.METHODS: Comparatively analyzing the characteristic of stem cells and the essence theory in TCM.RESULTS: Stem cells have the capacity for both self-renewal and differentiation and can produce the daughter cells with the same phenotype and genotype as themselves. Stem cells have the plasticity that a stem cell may differentiate into cells other than the lineages to which it is committed, and therefore, is also termed transdifferentiation. So it is of great value for stem cell application in tissue engineering, curing tissue-damaged diseases and as the vector for transgene therapy. We compared the character of stem cells with essence theory, an elementary and important part of the basic theory of TCM, and found that stem cells are related greatly to essence,according to its two origin, congenital essence and acquired essence, and four kinds of functions of essence, which are controlling reproduction,controlling growth and development, manufacturing marrow and transforming blood; nourishing and moistening the zangfu-organs. Furthermore, stem cells especially have direct connected with the congenital essence which is stored in the kidneys. Congenital essence is the reproductive essence accepted from parents. Sperm and ovum merge to be oosperm, that is just the totipotent stem cell. The connotative meanings of congenital essence include all germ plasm and the special developing message of a genus in the oosperm. Genital stem cells are in charge of the function of controlling reproduction of congenital essence. Growth and development function is related to the proliferation and differentiation of adult stem cells controlled by gene. Manufacturing marrow function has relation with bone marrow stem cells and neural stem cells (NSC) in medullary cavity in which contains bone marrow, spinal cord and brain. Dominating bones function of the kidneys is related to mesenchymal stem cells (MSC), and hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) execute the function of producing blood completely.CONCLUSION: We consider that stem cells have a close relation with the congenital essence, and we put forward a new viewpoint in this research that stem cells have the same properties of congenital essence, and they are existence formation of congenital essence in cell level.
