据巴西科技部网站报道，圣保罗大学医疗系的科研人员最近取得了利用改造皮肤基因获取诱导多功能干细胞（iPS细胞）的科研成果。
该科研项目的指导教师、圣保罗大学医疗系的迪玛斯塔德乌科瓦斯评价这项科研成果时说：“这项研究成果使巴西处于世界科研的突出地位。”这项由比尔基尼亚皮坎波和卡斯特罗共同进行的博士后科研项目成果发表在最近出版的《干细胞与发育》杂志上。
该项研究的目的是通过在成人细胞中植入基因以将成人细胞改造为iPS细胞。一些国际上的研究项目也曾使用过这种技术，但当进行过基因改造后的iPS细胞被植入动物体内后会导致肿瘤产生。
此次科研人员在研究过程中使用了SOX2、C-MYC和另一匿名基因修改人类成人皮肤细胞，成功将其改造成了iPS细胞，并避免了肿瘤的产生。目前该研究小组正在继续努力以揭示出这些细胞拥有的其他特点以及其潜在的治疗功能。(生物谷Bioon.com)
生物谷推荐原文出处：
Stem Cell And Development doi:10.1089/scd.2009.0424.
Pluripotent reprogramming of fibroblasts by lentiviral-mediated insertion of SOX2, C-MYC and TCL-1A.
Virginia Pican?o-Castro, Elisa Maria Souza Russo-Carbolante, Luiza Junqueira Reis, Ana Maria Fraga, Danielle Aparecida Rosa de Magalh?es, Maristela Delgado Orellana, Rodrigo Alexandre Panepucci, Lygia Veiga Pereira, Dimas Tadeu Covas.
Reprogramming of somatic cells to pluripotency, promises to boost cellular therapy. Most instances of direct reprogramming have been achieved by forced expression of defined exogenous factors using multiple viral vectors. The most used four transcription factors, OCT4, SOX2, KLF4 and C-MYC, can induce pluripotency in mouse and human fibroblasts. Here we report that forced expression of a new combination of transcription factors (TCL-1A, C-MYC and SOX2) is sufficient to promote the reprogramming of human fibroblast into pluripotent cells. These three-factor pluripotent cells are similar to human embryonic stem cells (hESC) in morphology, in the ability to differentiate into cells of the three embryonic layers, and at the level of global gene expression. Induced pluripotent human cells generated by combination of other factors will be of great help for the understanding of reprogramming pathways. This in turn will allow us to better control cell-fate and apply this knowledge to cell therapy.
