Methods, compositions and cells are provided that identify and isolate a population of adult non-embryonic progenitor cells having multilineage potential, physical diameters of about 2 μm to about 8 μm in size or about 4 μm to about 6 μm, and expressing at least one of the stem cell associated genes among Oct-4, KLF-4, Nanog, Sox-2, Rex-1, GDF-3 or Stella. Methods are also provided that identify and isolate populations, which are subsets or subpopulations of progenitor adult stem cells within the population of the adult stem cells which is a heterogeneous population, the methods including contacting the adult stem cells with a ligand specific for at least one of: CD99, tetraspan, ICAM4, full-length MUC1, and truncated MUC1 receptor, in which a presence of a surface protein on the cells that bind to the ligand identifies the population which is the subset of the differentiated progenitor adult stem cells.

The present invention relates to a method of preparing induced neural stem cells which are reprogrammed from differentiated cells. The method of producing the induced neural stem cells according to the present invention enables preparation of the induced neural stem cells from non-neuronal cells using only two inducing factors of SOX2 and HMGA2. Therefore, the method of the present invention can prepare induced neural stem cells in a more efficient manner than the conventional methods, which use four or five inducing factors. Additionally, the method of the present invention shows significantly higher inducing efficiency and proliferation capacity than when only a single SOX2 gene is used, thus increasing its potency to be used for therapeutic purposes.

The present disclosure provides methods of lineage specific differentiation of pluripotent stem cells, including induced pluripotent stem cells, into floor plate midbrain progenitor cells, determined dopamine (DA) neuron progenitor cells, and/or DA neurons. Also provided are compositions uses thereof, such as for treating neurodegenerative diseases and conditions, including Parkinson's disease.

Provided is a method for efficiently manufacturing high-purity peripheral nerve cells from undifferentiated cells. The method for manufacturing peripheral nerve cells from undifferentiated cells having an ability to differentiate into peripheral nerve cells includes the following steps (a) and (b): (a) culturing undifferentiated cells having an ability to differentiate into peripheral nerve cells to induce differentiation into neural progenitor cells without detaching a grown colony from a culture vessel; and (b) detaching the neural progenitor cells produced in the step (a) from the culture vessel, then seeding the cells at a seeding density of 2×10.sup.5 to 6×10.sup.5 cells/cm.sup.2 to a culture vessel, and culturing the cells for 14 to 42 days.

The present application discloses a method for generating less mature cells from starting cells including inducing the starting cells to revert to a less mature state including increasing the amount of an NME family member whose multimerization state is the biologically active state or decreasing the relative amount of an NME family member whose multimerization state is the biologically inactive state.

Provided is a method of inducing oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs) through direct reprogramming from human somatic cells into which a nucleic acid molecule encoding an Oct4 protein or Oct4 protein-treated human somatic cells. The method of inducing OPCs by treating Oct4-overexpressing human somatic cells with a low molecular weight substance may establish OPCs with high efficiency in a short period of time through direct reprogramming without via neural stem cells, and thus the OPCs are useful as a cell therapeutic agent for an intractable demyelinating disease.

Methods and compositions are provided for the regeneration of articular cartilage by activating skeletal stem cells with a combination of (i) mechanical and (ii) biochemical stimulus. The mechanical stimulus can be an acute local injury. The biochemical stimulus can be a combination of an effective dose of a BMP2 activating agent and a VEGF inhibitor.

An object of the present invention is to provide a pluripotent cell having high safety in application to regenerative medicine, and a method for production thereof. Another object of the present invention is to provide a pluripotent cell, particularly, having less concern for safety, such as a problem of cancerization of a cell, and the presence of bacteria in a cell, and a method for production thereof. According to the present invention, there is provided a method for producing a pluripotent cell from a somatic cell. The method comprises a step of inducing reprogramming of a somatic cell, by contacting the cell with a ribosome fraction derived from an organism. Further, according to the present invention, there is provided a composition for inducing reprogramming of a cell, comprising a ribosome fraction derived from an organism.

The present invention provides an endodermal cell production method that can induce differentiation of pluripotent cells into endodermal cells even when the pluripotent cells are dispersed and can achieve improved endodermal cell production efficiency. The endodermal cell production method according to the present invention is a method for producing endodermal cells by inducing differentiation of pluripotent cells into the endodermal cells, including the step of: inducing differentiation of the pluripotent cells into the endodermal cells in the presence of an endodermal cell inducing factor. In the induction step, the cell density of the pluripotent cells at the start of the induction preferably is from 0.5×10.sup.4 to 2×10.sup.4 cells/cm.sup.2.

The present invention is provides a method for treating human pluripotent cells. In particular, the methods of the invention are directed to the treatment of human pluripotent cells, whereby the human pluripotent cells can be efficiently expanded in culture and differentiated by treating the pluripotent cells with an inhibitor of glycogen synthase kinase 3β (GSK-3B) enzyme activity.