BACKGROUND: Recently, it is investigated that shell of plantain seed is a soluble dietary fiber which can be added into foods to regulate content of cholesterol.OBJECTIVE: To investigate the interventional effect of plantain seed on lipid and its lipid peroxidation in rats with hyperlipidemia.DESIGN: Completely randomized grouping design and controlled animal study.SETTING: Laboratory of Pharmacology and Toxicology for New Drug in Hebei Province.MATERIALS: ① A total of 24 healthy SD rats, of grade I, aged 60-70 days, weighting (210±22) g, of either gender, were selected in this study. ② Basic feed was provided by Experimental Animal Center in Hebei Province,and the fractional mass of each component was mentioned as following:flour 0.25, bran 0.1, corn dust 0.22, bean cake 0.22, fish dust 0.02, bone dust 0.02, grass dust 0.05, salt 0.01, yeast dust 0.02, and sunflower seed 0.03. High fat feed was provided by Experimental Animal Center in Hebei Province, and the fractional mass of each component was mentioned as following: basic 0.9, cholesterol 0.015, lard 0.08, and hyocholic salt 0.003.③ Lipid kit was provided by Baoding Changcheng Clinical Reagent Company, and kits of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT),glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and malondialdehyde (MDA) were provided by Nanjing Jiancheng Bioengineering Institute.METHODS: The experiment was completed at the Laboratory of Pharmacology and Toxicology for New Drug in Hebei Province from June to December 2004. ① All 24 rats were randomly divided into 3 groups:normal control group, model group and plantain seed group with 8 in each group. Rats in the normal control group were fed with basic feed. Rats in plantain seed group were fed with high fat feed + 15 g/kg plantain seed and drank routinely. Experimental rats were fed in cages, respectively.Each one was fed with 25 g/d food and drunk freely. The experimental cycle was 12 weeks. ② At the end of experiment, rats were anesthetized to assayed levels of serum triacylglycerol (TG), total cholesterol (TC), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), serum SOD and MDA, activities of CAT and SOD in myocardial tissue, content of MDA, and activities of CAT and GSH-Px in hepatic tissue with related kits. ③ Measurement data were compared between each two group with t test.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES:Comparison of serum lipid level and anti-oxidation among groups at 12 weeks after modeling.RESULTS: All 24 rats were involved in the final analysis. ① At 12 weeks after modeling, activities of SOD in serum and myocardial tissue were lower in model group than those in normal control group and plantain seed group (P ＜ 0.05), but levels of MDA in serum and myocardial tissue were higher in model group than those in normal control group and plantain seed group (P ＜ 0.05). ② At 12weeks after modeling, activities of CAT and GSH-Px in serum and myocardial tissue were lower in model group than those in normal control group and plantain seed group (P ＜ 0.05). ③ At 12 weeks after modeling, levels of TC and TG in serum were higher in model group than those in normal control group and plantain seed group (P ＜ 0.05), but level of HDL-C and ratio between HDL-C and TC in serum were lower in model group than those in normal control group and plantain seed group (P ＜ 0.05).CONCLUSION: Plantain seed at dosage of 15 g/kg can decrease content of lipid and strengthen anti-oxidation of economy in rats with hyperlipidemia.

Differentiated cells can be reprogrammed into pluripotent stem cells, known as "induced pluripotent stem cells" (iPSCs), through the overexpression of defined transcription factors. The creation of iPSC lines has opened new avenues for patient-specific cell replacement therapies for regenerative medicine. However, the clinical utilization of iPSCs is largely impeded by two limitations. The first limitation is the low efficiency of iPSCs generation from differentiated cells. The second limitation is that many iPSC lines are not authentically pluripotent, as many cell lines inefficiently differentiate into differentiated cell types when they are tested for their ability to complement embryonic development. Thus, the "quality" of iPSCs must be increased if they are to be differentiated into specialized cell types for cell replacement therapies. Overcoming these two limitations is paramount to facilitate the widespread employment of iPSCs for therapeutic purposes. Here, we summarize recent progress made in strategies enabling the efficient production of high-quality iPSCs, including choice of reprogramming factors, choice of target cell type, and strategies to improve iPSC quality.
Animals ; Cell Differentiation ; Cellular Reprogramming ; Humans ; Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells ; cytology ; metabolism ; MicroRNAs ; metabolism ; Regenerative Medicine ; Signal Transduction ; Transcription Factors ; metabolism

It is not fully clear why there is a higher contribution of pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) to the chimera produced by injection of PSCs into 4-cell or 8-cell stage embryos compared with blastocyst injection. Here, we show that not only embryonic stem cells (ESCs) but also induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) can generate F0 nearly 100% donor cell-derived mice by 4-cell stage embryo injection, and the approach has a "dose effect". Through an analysis of the PSC-secreted proteins, Activin A was found to impede epiblast (EPI) lineage development while promoting trophectoderm (TE) differentiation, resulting in replacement of the EPI lineage of host embryos with PSCs. Interestingly, the injection of ESCs into blastocysts cultured with Activin A (cultured from 4-cell stage to early blastocyst at E3.5) could increase the contribution of ESCs to the chimera. The results indicated that PSCs secrete protein Activin A to improve their EPI competency after injection into recipient embryos through influencing the development of mouse early embryos. This result is useful for optimizing the chimera production system and for a deep understanding of PSCs effects on early embryo development.
Activins ; metabolism ; Animals ; Cells, Cultured ; Embryonic Development ; Germ Layers ; metabolism ; Mice ; Pluripotent Stem Cells ; cytology ; metabolism