The present invention is in the field of oncology, and more particularly of cancer stem cells. It relates to a method for producing cancer stem cells based on overexpression of 133536 isoform, 13353 isoform, or both 133536 and 13353 isoforms; a method for predicting the risk that treatment with a chemotherapeutic anti-cancer agent induces cancer stem cells in a subject suffering from cancer from a cancer sample of said subject, based on detection of an increase in 133536 isoform, 13353 isoform, or both 133536 and 13353 isoforms following chemotherapeutic anti-cancer treatment; to therapeutic uses of a combination of chemotherapeutic anti-cancer agent and an agent reducing 133p536 isoform, 13353 isoform, or both 133536 and 13353 isoforms expression; and also to screening methods for anti-cancer stem cells agents.

The present application provides a group of human immortalized B lymphocyte cell lines and use thereof, and specifically provides a combination of four closely related immortalized lymphocyte cell lines. The combination can be used as a standard product for accuracy evaluation of a detection platform. When the four closely related immortalized lymphocyte cell lines are used as standard products for epigenome, transcriptome, proteome, and metabolome, an intrinsic magnitude difference gradient can be formed to evaluate the sensitivity of histological detection.

Technology for the isolation and propagation of primary human Sertoli cells from normal testes tissue, including cultures of proliferative primary human Sertoli cells for research and clinical applications, and a pharmaceutical composition for cell therapy, ex vivo gene therapy, and for the reduction of autoimmune, allograft, and xenograft immune reactions.

Provided herein are efficient, scalable methods for in vitro production of human retinal progenitor cells. In addition, provided herein are methods for isolating pure populations of in vitro produced human retinal progenitor cells as well as kits and compositions comprising such pure populations of human retinal progenitor cells.

This disclosure provides a method for programming human somatic cells into hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). The method includes inducing expression of the 3GF reprogramming transcription factor cocktail, including GATA2, GFI1B, GFI1, and FOS transcription factors, in human somatic cells. Further, this disclosure also demonstrates co-culturing HSCs with AFT024 stroma cells results in more functional cells, both qualitatively and quantitatively.

The present disclosure provides the development of engineered cardiomyocytes having mutations in transcription factor involved in vivo with cardiac development and/or function. These cell populations comprise mutations that are associated with deleterious effects in vivo in mammals. The mutations of the engineered cardiomyocytes of the disclosure thus are rationally designed based on demonstrated physiological effects in mammals, e.g., mice or humans.

Provided are a cell preparation, a use of a protein in characterizing hematopoietic stem cells, and a method for determining hematopoietic stem cells. The cell preparation is CD34+, CD90+, CD45RA sorted and obtained from among cells to be sorted, and hematopoietic stem cells that are positive for the following proteins, the protein being selected from one or more among CD48, CD66a, CD66c, CD66d, CD66e, and CD200. By using the foregoing protein(s) to characterize hematopoietic stem cells, not only can target cells be more accurately calibrated and evaluated in vitro, but the ability of a patient to maintain long-term reconstruction of the hematopoietic system after receiving a hematopoietic stem cell transplant can also be improved, achieving a better treatment effect.

The present invention concerns a novel in vitro assay for determining the invasive ability of brain tumour cells, in particular brain tumour stem cells. This new assay, called 3D invasion assay, is based on the analysis and comparison of the area of neurospheres grown in vitro into a Matrigel extracellular-like matrix. The invention also concerns the use of said assay for diagnosing metastatic brain tumour in subjects, for determining its prognosis, as well as for the monitoring, for the stratification, for identifying subjects at risk of metastasis, and/or predicting the metastasis-associated risk in subjects diagnosed with brain tumour.

The present invention relates to an in vitro liver disease model using triple co-culture and a preparation method thereof, and the method of preparing the in vitro liver disease model includes directly co-culturing hepatocytes and hepatic stellate cells, and simultaneously indirectly co-culturing Kupffer cells by being separated from the hepatocytes and the hepatic stellate cells to enable a rapid and highly accurate analysis by similarly implementing the in vivo environment compared to mono-culture, and simultaneously make it easier to collect and measure specimens than typical direct co-culture.

The present invention discloses crosslinked poly(alkylene glycol) (PAG)-based hydrogel compositions, systems containing a plurality of cancer cells in contact with a cell culture media and encapsulated in the crosslinked PAG-based hydrogel composition and methods of making such crosslinked hydrogel compositions and systems. Also disclosed herein are methods of using such compositions and systems, such as, for example for screening an agent for effectiveness of the agent against cancer cells. Also disclosed herein are kits containing one or more components including one or more systems of the present disclosure and one or more instructions.