The present invention relates to an indirect three-dimensional co-culture. The indirect co-culture may comprise bone marrow niche cells, tumor cells and a culture medium. The bone marrow niche cells and the tumor cells may be incubated in the culture medium without direct contact between the bone marrow niche cells and the tumor cells. The tumor cells may be dormant or reactivated. Also provided are a method for preparing the indirect co-culture and a method for screening for an agent capable of inhibiting reactivation of dormant tumor cells or promoting dormancy of proliferating tumor cells.

Methods of expanding tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), including peripheral blood lymphocytes and marrow infiltrating lymphocytes, from blood and/or bone marrow of patients with hematological malignancies, such as liquid tumors, including lymphomas and leukemias, and uses of such expanded TILs in the treatment of diseases such as cancers and hematological malignancies are disclosed herein.

A method for producing an epithelial cell sheet, comprising culturing cells derived from oral mucosal epithelial cells on a substrate in a serum-free medium, wherein the serum-free medium comprises (i) EGF protein or KGF protein, (ii) B-27 supplement, and (iii) a ROCK inhibitor.

The present invention chiefly aims to provide a new differentiation inducing agent (peptide) that can solve the previous problems in inducing differentiation of pluripotent stem cells such as ES/iPS cells into somatic cells (e.g., cardiomyocytes).

The present invention can include, for example, a synthetic peptide having, in the molecular structure thereof, an amino acid sequence represented by the following (SEQ ID NO: 1), or an amino acid sequence formed by substitution, deletion and/or addition of one or several amino acid residues in the amino acid sequence. It can also include, for example, a composition for inducing differentiation of pluripotent stem cells into somatic cells, comprising said synthetic peptide.

TABLE-US-00001 (SEQ ID No. 1) C A X X L X X L X X X L X X L X G X X X X X X X X X X X X X X L X X X L X X L X X A C                                                                  • • • 

This disclosure relates to methods of washing cells from a grown cell mass to remove cell culture media and enriching the cells with a finishing media. The disclosed method includes growing a cell mass in cell culture media and then collecting and washing the grown cell mass with a series of wash buffers or a gradient wash buffer that changes over time. While the cell culture media contains nutrients and components beneficial for cell growth, cells grown in cell culture media often have off flavors, off aromas, poor color, poor salt/minerality compositions, and other shortcomings. Accordingly, the disclosed method comprises removing cell culture media remnants from a grown cell mass using a single or a series of wash media. The grown cell mass is further washed with a finishing or enrichment buffer to further improve sensory aspects and nutritional composition of the grown cell mass.

An ex-vivo culturing method of osteoblasts for implantation, comprising a culturing of adult live osteoblasts as an ex-vivo procedure. The ex-vivo culture, which leads to the formation of the active substance, further comprises the steps of isolation of osteo-progenitor cells, differentiation of osteo-progenitor cells in to osteoblasts, expansion culture, cell culture harvest and wash followed by filling and packaging. This method is instrumental in accelerating the process of bone formation.

The invention discloses for the first time pluripotent cells, including hypoimmune pluripotent ABO blood type O Rhesus Factor negative (HIPO−) cells, that evade rejection by the host allogeneic immune system and avoid blood antigen type rejection. The HIPO− cells comprise reduced HLA-I and HLA-II expression, increased CD47 expression, and a universal blood group O Rh− (“O−”) blood type. The universal blood type is achieved by eliminating ABO blood group A and B antigents as well as eliminating Rh factor expression, or by starting with an O− parent cell line. These new, novel HIPO− cells evade host immune rejection because they have an impaired antigen presentation capacity, protection from innate immune clearance, and lack blood group rejection. The cells of the invention also include O− pluripotent stem cells (iPSCO−) and O− embryonic stem cells (ESCO−). The invention further provides universally acceptable “off-the-shelf” pluripotent cells and derivatives thereof for generating or regenerating specific tissues and organs.

Provided herein are methods for identifying and treating cancers that are resistant to PARP inhibition. Methods for sensitizing cancers to a PARP inhibitor therapy are also provided. In some aspects. PARP inhibitor cancers are treated with a PARP inhibitor therapy in combination with a c-Met inhibitor therapy.

A method for dynamic evolution and/or adaptation and monitoring of characteristics in living cells is provided, wherein the method may be performed at a microfluidic-enabled cell-culture device comprising pneumatic layer for directing flow of fluid to a plurality of individually addressable wells, and one or more sensors configured to detect data regarding environments inside one or more of the plurality of wells. The method may involve culturing a population of cells in a first well of the plurality of wells, perturbing one or more characteristics of an environment in the first well following the culturing of the population of cells, monitoring one or more characteristics of the population of cells in the first well, and removing all or part of the evolved/adapted population of cells from the first well.

The present disclosure relates to a method for obtaining human brain-like endothelial cells by contacting a population of cells isolated from stem cells with a differentiation medium to obtain endothelial cells and co-culturing said endothelial cells with pericytes, with cells of the neurovascular unit or with a pericytes conditioned medium, to obtain brain-like endothelial cells. The present disclosure also relates to the use of the brain-like endothelial cells as an in vitro model of human blood-brain barrier and a kit for measuring blood-brain barrier permeability of a substance, comprising in vitro human endothelial cells.