日本東京大學(xué)的研究人員首次開發(fā)出了利用超小球形碳分子C60（富勒烯）導(dǎo)入基因的新技術(shù),。該技術(shù)有望為糖尿病患者帶來福音。
C60是60個(gè)碳原子結(jié)合在一起形成的直徑不足1納米的球狀微小粒子,。東京大學(xué)副教授野入英世和教授中村榮一率領(lǐng)的研究小組讓C60攜帶4個(gè)氨基,，制造出了水溶性C60,，使其與基因結(jié)合成為可能,。
研究人員將結(jié)合了綠色熒光蛋白基因的水溶性C60注射到實(shí)驗(yàn)鼠體內(nèi),。結(jié)果發(fā)現(xiàn)實(shí)驗(yàn)鼠的肺,、肝和脾都出現(xiàn)了該基因，證實(shí)了水溶性C60具有強(qiáng)大的基因運(yùn)載能力,。在隨后的實(shí)驗(yàn)中，研究人員讓水溶性C60攜帶指導(dǎo)合成胰島素的基因進(jìn)入實(shí)驗(yàn)鼠體內(nèi),，結(jié)果實(shí)驗(yàn)鼠體內(nèi)的胰島素水平增加到平常的1.5倍,，血糖值也降低了20%以上。
研究人員介紹說,，與基因結(jié)合的水溶性C60穿過細(xì)胞膜以后就會(huì)與基因分離，隨尿液排出體外,，不會(huì)在體內(nèi)堆積,。
目前，治療糖尿病的手段主要是通過給患者直接注射胰島素來降低血糖值,。日本研究人員認(rèn)為,，此次開發(fā)的新技術(shù)達(dá)到實(shí)用化水平后，降低血糖值效果的持續(xù)時(shí)間將比直接注射還要長,，由此將大大減輕患者的負(fù)擔(dān),。另外，這項(xiàng)新技術(shù)還有可能促成安全性更高的基因治療糖尿病方法的出現(xiàn),。
這一研究結(jié)果已刊登在美國《美國科學(xué)院院刊》（PNAS）網(wǎng)絡(luò)版上,。(生物谷Bioon.com)
生物谷推薦原文出處：
PNAS doi: 10.1073/pnas.0909223107
In vivo gene delivery by cationic tetraamino fullerene
Rui Maeda-Mamiyaa,b, Eisei Noirib,1, Hiroyuki Isobec, Waka Nakanishic, Koji Okamotob, Kent Doib, Takeshi Sugayad, Tetsuro Izumie, Tatsuya Hommaa, and Eiichi Nakamuraa,1
Application of nanotechnology to medical biology has brought remarkable success. Water-soluble fullerenes are molecules with great potential for biological use because they can endow unique characteristics of amphipathic property and form a self-assembled structure by chemical modification. Effective gene delivery in vitro with tetra(piperazino)fullerene epoxide (TPFE) and its superiority to Lipofectin have been described in a previous report. For this study, we evaluated the efficacy of in vivo gene delivery by TPFE. Delivery of enhanced green fluorescent protein gene (EGFP) by TPFE on pregnant female ICR mice showed distinct organ selectivity compared with Lipofectin; moreover, higher gene expression by TPFE was found in liver and spleen, but not in the lung. No acute toxicity of TPFE was found for the liver and kidney, although Lipofectin significantly increased liver enzymes and blood urea nitrogen. In fetal tissues, neither TPFE nor Lipofectin induced EGFP gene expression. Delivery of insulin 2 gene to female C57/BL6 mice increased plasma insulin levels and reduced blood glucose concentrations, indicating the potential of TPFE-based gene delivery for clinical application. In conclusion, this study demonstrated effective gene delivery in vivo for the first time using a water-soluble fullerene.
