Revolutionizing the understanding of acupoint biology and acupuncture mechanisms through spatial omics: current...

Characterizing how localized physical stimulation at acupoints elicits systemic therapeutic effects is essential to understanding acupuncture biology. Spatial omics technologies offer a transformative approach to this challenge by enabling high-resolution, multiplexed analysis of biomolecules directly within their native tissue contexts, thereby decoding the spatial molecular architecture of acupoints and mapping the systemic regulatory networks underlying acupuncture effects. This review synthesizes the spatial and anatomical properties of acupoints and the established molecular mechanisms of acupuncture, focusing on key receptors and signaling pathways. We further provide a comprehensive overview of spatial omics technologies and their groundbreaking applications in both Western and Chinese medicine. Critically, we explore the potential of spatial omics to revolutionize acupuncture research by delineating the spatial biological architecture of acupoints, visualizing the local tissue response to stimulation, and ultimately deciphering the spatiotemporal dynamics of the remote network responses that underpin acupuncture's systemic effects. Overcoming current technical and analytical challenges will be pivotal in harnessing spatial omics to investigate the proposed spatial principles of acupuncture, thereby bridging a critical gap between its empirical practice and mechanistic understanding.