What breakthroughs did the Tu Youyou team make?

"Winning prizes and being famous is a thing of the past, so work hard." At the beginning of 20 18, Tu Youyou, born on 1930, was a little anxious.

In the eyes of the winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine and the winner of the highest national science and technology award, "Chinese New Year" is more of a concept of time, reminding her that "there are still many things to do".

Tu Youyou talked about his New Year's resolutions.

Expectation 1: discover more artemisinin "secrets" and "turn paper into medicine"

Tu Youyou has been exposed to artemisinin for nearly 50 years since 1969.

She and her research team went deep into the microscopic world from "holding Artemisia annua in one hand, soaking in two liters of water, and wringing all the juice" in Ge Hong's Elbow Urgent Prescription in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, so that more "secrets" of artemisinin were uncovered.

For ordinary people, from Artemisia annua to artemisinin and dihydroartemisinin, scientific progress has benefited more people; However, for scientists, every small step is difficult.

"The antimalarial effect of artemisinin exists objectively, but what is the mechanism of how artemisinin can achieve antimalarial and play a medicinal role in the human body? We didn't do enough before, and now we need to study it in depth. " Tu Youyou told reporters that in the future, this will be the focus of her and the research group.

"If we understand the antimalarial mechanism of artemisinin, we can give full play to its efficacy and better apply this drug, which is an important link in artemisinin research." Finding out the "secret" of artemisinin may not only play its antimalarial role. Tu Youyou told reporters that she saw artemisinin's "hope of expanding indications".

"Science should seek truth from facts. The key to medicine is curative effect. Now we have to turn paper into medicine, let medicine cure the disease, and let artemisinin better benefit mankind. " Tu Youyou said.

Expectation 2: Establish a national Chinese medicine laboratory to recruit talents at home and abroad.

"When artemisinin was first discovered decades ago, other units were conducting research, but because it didn't get enough attention, many things were discovered but didn't go deep." Tu Youyou recalled, "It was with the care and support of the party and the government that later achievements were made."

It is precisely because of this experience that Tu Youyou cherishes the research platform of Artemisinin Research Center of Chinese Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, hoping that it can be "upgraded" to become a national laboratory in the field of traditional Chinese medicine research: "Now the party and the country attach so much importance to the cause of traditional Chinese medicine, we need to establish a high-level and high-level research platform for traditional Chinese medicine, and use the most advanced modern science and technology to make artemisinin research' transparent' and realize the real integration of traditional Chinese and western medicine."

At the same time, a high-level research platform can naturally attract more high-level scientific research talents at home and abroad. "We have introduced some young talents who have made a lot of contributions to promoting artemisinin research, but the talents still feel insufficient. We also want to introduce more domestic and foreign talents. " Tu Youyou looked at Jiang (born 1933) and Liao (born 1942) in the team with complicated eyes. "We are all 70 and 80 years old."

When it comes to future research, Tu Youyou suddenly regained his confidence and determination: "We don't win prizes for the sake of winning prizes, and we don't just finish winning prizes. Now that research has begun, it is necessary to produce more practical results. "

Expectation 3: using modern science and technology to develop innovative ways of inheritance and development of traditional Chinese medicine.

According to the statistics of the World Health Organization, by the end of 20 16, about half of the population in 9/kloc-0 countries and regions around the world was still threatened by malaria. In that year, there were 2120,000 malaria cases and more than 400,000 deaths. Malaria is still one of the three deadly diseases in the world. However, it is precisely because China scientists got inspiration from TCM classics and discovered artemisinin that more people were snatched back from death.

"The real efficacy of artemisinin has made the international recognition of the efficacy of Chinese medicine." Tu Youyou said, "It is difficult to find artemisinin from Artemisia annua, but the national' 523' team proved the truth that' as long as you work hard, you will get something'."

Tu Youyou believes that the R&D process from Artemisia annua to artemisinin is only a way of innovation of traditional Chinese medicine, and there are many ways and possibilities for the inheritance and development of traditional Chinese medicine.

"How to use modern science and technology to inherit, develop and make good use of Chinese medicine is a problem that scientists in China need to solve at present." Tu Youyou said, "Health is the premise of a better life. "Healthy China" needs us to do it in a down-to-earth way, so that more medical research results can be applied to people and more patients can stay away from diseases. This is the pursuit and responsibility of every Chinese medicine worker. " (Reporter Liang, Zhou Ning,)

Two years after winning the Nobel Prize: From Minority to "National Team"

How time flies! In a blink of an eye, it has been more than two years since Tu Youyou won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. What have Tu Youyou and her team been busy with these two years, and have there been any new breakthroughs in scientific research? What does the Nobel Prize mean for Chinese medicine represented by Tu Youyou's team? With these questions, Xinhua Daily Telegraph reporter walked into the Chinese Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine and visited Tu Youyou's team.

National artemisinin research team: from "a few people" to "a group of people"

"Yo, yo, Luming Literature, wormwood." The wild deer described in The Book of Songs calls on companions to look for and share wormwood in the wild.

"A few years ago, when I was studying for a master's degree at the College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, I saw Teacher Tu and felt like a kind old lady. Later, she won the Nobel Prize and became more and more famous. I didn't know that the old lady living next to me had such a high academic record. Therefore, when applying for a doctorate, I did not hesitate to go to Teacher Tu. " Dr. Yue introduced that in the past two years, more and more young talents have entered the gate of Artemisinin Research Center of Chinese Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Liao, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine and deputy director of the Academic Committee of Artemisinin Research Center, still remembers the former "Tu Youyou team": "In fact, Professor Tu mainly brought two researchers who did chemical work, and the team was very small."

Now, artemisinin research center has been upgraded to "artemisinin research center of Chinese Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine", which is not only a name change, but also means that the center has increasingly developed into a "national team" for artemisinin research.

"We have given strong support in the equipment, staffing and funding of the artemisinin research center." Zhang Boli, academician of China Academy of Engineering and president of Chinese Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, told the reporter that the hospital has included the elucidation of artemisinin resistance mechanism and its control methods, as well as clinical application expansion and biosynthesis research in the "Thirteenth Five-Year Plan" key tasks, and suggested applying for relevant national innovation projects.

"We can't behind closed doors. The study of the mechanism of artemisinin requires a' big collaboration' thinking. " Jiang, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine and director of the Academic Committee of Artemisinin Research Center, said that under this thinking, the composition of Tu Youyou's team is also undergoing tremendous changes.

"At present, Tu Youyou has a team of more than 20 people. These researchers are not limited to the field of chemistry, but extended to pharmacology, biomedical research and other disciplines, forming a multidisciplinary research model. " Liao said to him.

Artemisinin Research Center is gradually building a research platform covering relevant scientific research units at home and abroad. Liao Longfu said: "We have carried out special collaborative research and development with scientific research units such as the National Nano Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, universities such as the National University of Singapore, Capital Medical University, large listed pharmaceutical companies and other institutions in various fields at home and abroad, and jointly hosted academic forums to realize the integration and sharing of global artemisinin research resources and strength."

"Artemisinin research in some specific fields in some domestic units is even deeper than ours." Tu Youyou, researcher of Chinese Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine and director of artemisinin research center, hopes to build a new platform for artemisinin research and development, gather relevant researchers at home and abroad, and integrate various scientific and technological means.

Artemisinin research and development "surprises" again and again: breakthroughs in antimalarial mechanism and indications research

Artemisinin has been discovered for 40 years, but Tu Youyou told reporters: "Up to now, I have not fully understood the' panorama' of Artemisia annua."

It has been recognized by the scientific community that artemisinin has the highest concentration in red blood cells infected by plasmodium after entering patients' bodies-this understanding has been 40 years, but why this happens is still unknown.

Similarly, artemisinin will become dihydroartemisinin after metabolism in human body, and its efficacy is even stronger than artemisinin. "This is also a question worth studying." Jiang said to him.

With the initial formation of a multidisciplinary and extensive cooperation model, the breadth and depth of artemisinin research are also expanding, and scientists are approaching the "mystery" step by step.

"In the study of artemisinin's antimalarial mechanism, we are now more inclined to the' multi-target theory' and have made some research progress." Liao Longfu told reporters that the researchers also found that although some components except artemisinin in Artemisia annua have no antimalarial effect, they can promote the antimalarial effect of artemisinin and improve the utilization rate of artemisinin.

"In the research and development of artemisinin combined with other antimalarial drugs, we also learn from the traditional Chinese medicine theory and adopt a multi-drug and multi-target approach to find better curative effects and overcome drug resistance." Xiang Li, Ph.D., Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chinese Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, said.

More importantly, artemisinin, a drug that has been discovered for 40 years, is constantly cracking the "password" by researchers, showing a wider range of functions:

In the in-depth study of dihydroartemisinin, Tu Youyou team found the unique effect of dihydroartemisinin on lupus erythematosus. "Lupus erythematosus is an abnormal immune system caused by many factors and has high variability. Traditional treatment methods can only use immune preparations for conservative treatment, which is difficult to cure. Long-term medication will cause risks such as infection and tumor. " The interviewed experts told reporters that according to the existing clinical trials, artemisinin has an effective rate of over 90% for discoid lupus erythematosus and over 80% for systemic lupus erythematosus, which has obvious curative effect in the whole pathological process from occurrence, development to end. At present, "dihydroartemisinin in the treatment of lupus erythematosus" has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for clinical verification. This is also the first application for adding new indications after dihydroartemisinin was approved as a new drug.

At the same time, research data show that artemisinin can play an anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory role in all stages of innate immunity and acquired immune diseases. Researchers have proved that artemisinin is also effective in treating tumors, leukemia, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis and allergic diseases.

"At present, the application of artemisinin in tumor treatment is being studied in depth. At the same time, we are formulating the process optimization standards for artemisinin in the preparation process. " Liao Longfu introduced that in the past two years, the Tu Youyou team has officially published 5 scientific research papers 10, including 2 important papers with impact factors exceeding10, and patents are being filed, and the research on the mechanism of artemisinin resistance has also been started.

At the same time, the project "Study on Anti-malaria Mechanism of Artemisinin Compounds" in Tu Youyou was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China for 5 million yuan. The major new drug project of the Ministry of Science and Technology on artemisinin indications has been approved; Many pharmaceutical companies have applied for cooperation. ...

"The times have given us a good opportunity, hoping to break the fallacy that' Western medicine makes you die clearly and Chinese medicine makes you live in a daze'." Tu Youyou said.

Outlook 20 18: making Chinese medicine an elegant hall

With Tu Youyou winning the Nobel Prize, "Artemisinin-a gift of traditional Chinese medicine to the world" was quickly known to the whole world.

After winning the Nobel Prize, many well-known universities in the West invited Tu Youyou to participate in scientific research and awarded him various titles such as "honorary doctor". Even the content of traditional Chinese medicine may appear in classic western medicine textbooks for the first time.

In Zhang Boli's view, the "Tu Youyou effect" is a "shot in the arm" for China's scientific and technological circles, especially Chinese medicine researchers-"This proves that China's scientific and technological workers can win the Nobel Prize for their original scientific research achievements in China, which is a great encouragement to scientific and technological confidence."

At the same time, however, there are still problems and embarrassment that cannot be concealed before the head of the "national team" of Chinese medicine research: "From an academic point of view, Chinese medicine can't be quantified with instruments and equipment like western medicine, and many things can only be expressed, which has also become an obstacle to the progress of Chinese medicine."

What is even more embarrassing is that so far, there are nearly 100 national laboratories related to western medicine, while Chinese medicine is still blank.

"The National Laboratory of Traditional Chinese Medicine is not for a nice name, but it is difficult to attract high-level top talents without such a higher-level platform." Zhang Boli, like Tu Youyou, is very anxious about it. "Our Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine has about 140 SCI papers every year. Who says Chinese medicine can't be elegant? "

"Regardless of Chinese medicine and western medicine, the fundamental purpose is to serve human health. The inheritance and research and development models of traditional Chinese medicine can be varied, and artemisinin research is only one of them, but multidisciplinary research methods should be the future development trend. " Liao said to him.

In Zhang Boli's view, it is undoubtedly the right direction to inherit, develop and make good use of traditional Chinese medicine by combining thousands of years of "original experience" with modern science and technology. (Reporter Liang, Zhou Ning,)

Reporter's Note: "Artemisinin Spirit" in My Eyes

I believe everyone who tries to interview Tu Youyou has a deep understanding of how difficult it is. "Winning the prize is a thing of the past. The interview has said a lot. Our main job is to do research, not to be interviewed. " The old man's refusal is often firm and merciless.

So is our interview this time.

On the exhibition board of Artemisinin Research Center of Chinese Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, we saw pictures and descriptions of Artemisia annua. In order to interview, we also looked up a lot of information about Artemisia annua and artemisinin.

During the interaction with Tu Youyou team, we gradually got a deeper understanding of Artemisia annua, Tu Youyou, artemisinin, Tu Youyou team and artemisinin spirit, and felt reverence from the bottom of our hearts.

Artemisia annua is millet. This plant which has saved millions of lives is distributed in almost half of China. Riverside, valley, roadside, forest edge ... even in dangerous crevices, it can grow tenaciously.

Artemisia annua has no beautiful flowers and fragrant flowers. If you don't observe it deliberately, most people will even ignore this ubiquitous plant. It has no heart for beauty. In the season when flowers are in full bloom, it keeps a low profile and does not ask for praise.

However, no matter how complicated and hard the environment is, Artemisia annua only absorbs nutrients silently, and then grows wonderfully in clusters.

Not afraid of difficulties, willing to be lonely, down-to-earth, willing to contribute ... This is very similar to the teams of Tu Youyou and Tu Youyou, and the researchers they represent. It is their silent dedication year after year and day after day that makes us experience a better life.

We understand the refusal of scientists. Tu Youyou once said, "In recent years, he has also been commended, and now he has to work"-he cares about his own research topics and project progress and makes more contributions to the survival and development of mankind.

Dr. Tu from Tu Youyou said, "Teacher Tu has never been distracted by changes in his surroundings in his life. Her firmness and persistence in scientific research touched us. "

"Science should seek truth from facts. The key to medicine is curative effect. What we have to do now is to turn paper into medicine, let medicine cure diseases, and let artemisinin better benefit mankind. " Tu Youyou said, "We didn't win the prize for the sake of winning it, nor did we win the prize in the end. Now that research has begun, it is necessary to produce more practical results. "

While the words are still ringing in our ears, we seem to see clumps of Artemisia annua growing tenaciously in the wind and rain, and feel the "artemisinin spirit" that Chinese medicine workers are willing to sit on the bench and sharpen their swords for ten years.

Come on, create infinite possibilities in a limited life.