干细胞和毒理基因组学技术在毒性评价中的应用为该领域带来了新的思路和优势。鲸豚类作为水环境健康的理想指示物种，其诱导多能干细胞（iPSCs）和毒理基因组评价体系的建立和应用将为物种保护和环境评价提供更为有效的数据。本研究针对我国水环境新型污染物不断涌现而毒理学数据和有效评价模型匮乏的现状，利用前期建立的鲸豚类的皮肤成纤维细胞，拟通过细胞重编程的方法获得其iPSCs，进一步结合干细胞毒理学和毒理基因组学技术对部分水环境污染物潜在的胚胎毒性和发育毒性及其作用机制进行探讨，建立基于鲸豚类iPSCs的体外评价模型。该模型的建立将突破传统动物实验（动物伦理、物种差异）及原代细胞（增殖受限、某些细胞类型难以获得）和永生化细胞（细胞存在突变、功能改变）评价体系的限制，成为理想的替代模型。同时鲸豚类iPSCs将保存它们具有发育潜能的遗传种质，也将为学者们探讨鲸豚类水环境的分子适应机制提供新的平台。

Stem cell technology and toxicogenomic assessment advance toxicology fields and provide a new tool for better understanding the adverse effects of pollutants. Cetaceans can serve as indicator species for aquatic ecosystem, the assessment models that based on iPSCs and toxicogenomic will generate more effective and comprehensive data for the environment management and animal conservation. Given the exponential discovery of novel persistent pollutants in Chinese waters as well as the limited toxicological data of their hazardousness and effective assessment models, in this project, cetacean fibroblasts (we have established fibroblast cell lines from the skin of pygmy killer whale and pantropical spotted dolphin) will be reprogramed into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), and then the potential embryotoxicity, development toxicity and reproductive toxicity effects and the underlying mechanisms of some marine pollutants will be evaluated based on the iPSCs toxicity tests and toxicogenomic assessment. The developed iPSCs assessment model is aimed to overcome the general limitations in traditional primary cells (finite number of generations and some types of cells difficult to obtain) and immortalized cells (accumulating mutations or altered cell functions) assessment, as well as animal tests (interspecies variations and ethical issues). The establishment of cetacean iPSCs, meanwhile, may provide a novel research platform for studies of molecular mechanisms of their unique aquatic adaptation and preserve the genetic germplasm, which has the developmental capability, of the endangered species.