Disclosed herein are new therapeutic methods and compositions for maintaining and regenerating intestinal epithelial cells in a mammal. In a specific embodiment, the methods involve administering an amount LIF that induces intestinal epithelial cell regeneration. The methods and compositions are useful for preventing or treating gastrointestinal radiation injury or GVHD.

The invention provides compositions and methods for manufacturing pluripotent cells. In particular, the invention provides improved culture platforms for manufacturing pluripotent cells with ground state pluripotency. In various embodiments, the invention contemplates, in part, a composition comprising: (a) a Wnt pathway agonist; (b) a MEK inhibitor; and (c) a ROCK inhibitor. In certain embodiments, the composition further comprises bFGF or LIF.

Aspects of the present disclosure relate to methods for producing formative pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) by culturing cells in a medium that comprises a fibroblast growth factor (FGF) activator, a transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β) activator, and a WNT activator. Also provided are in vitro culture systems for producing the formative pluripotent stem cells.

The present disclosure relates to a novel musculoskeletal stem cell (MSSC) differentiated from an ESC (embryonic stem cell) or an iPSC (induced pluripotent stem cell). The musculoskeletal stem cell of the present disclosure can be easily induced from a human embryonic stem cell or a human-derived pluripotent stem cell and can be effectively differentiated not only into bone but also into cartilage, tendon and muscle. Accordingly, it can be usefully used for prevention or treatment of various musculoskeletal diseases.

Cardiac neural crest cells and methods for making and using the same to effect cardiac injury is described herein.

The invention provides universally acceptable “off-the-shelf” hypoimmunogenic pluripotent cells and differentiated cardiac, endothelial, neuronal, islet, or retinal pigment cells thereof. Such hypoimmune cells are used to treat patients in need thereof. The cells lack major immune antigens that trigger immune responses and are engineered to avoid phagocytic endocytosis.

The invention relates to mammalian haploid embryonic stem cells and methods for the production of such stem cells. The inventions also relates to a cell culture and a cell line of mammalian haploid embryonic stem cells.

Provided is an isolated human naive pluripotent stem cell (PSC), wherein: (i) when the naive PSC is a female PSC, then said naive female PSC has two unmethylated alleles of an X-inactive specific transcript (XIST) gene; and (ii) when said naive PSC is a male PSC, then said naive male PSC has an unmethylated allele of said XIST gene. Also provided is a culture medium which comprises an ERK1/2 inhibitor, a GSK3beta inhibitor, a p38 inhibitor, a JNK inhibitor, a STAT3 activator and at least one agent selected from the group consisting of: bFGF, TGFbeta 1, a PKC inhibitor, a ROCK inhibitor and a NOTCH inhibitor; or at least agent selected from the group consisting of: a TGFR inhibitor, a FGFR inhibitor, a PKC inhibitor, a ROCK inhibitor and a NOTCH inhibitor.

A culture medium is provided which is capable of establishing expanded potential stem cell (EPSC) lines which resemble naive or ground state ES cells, but are also able to differentiate into placenta trophoblasts and the embryo proper. Methods are provided using the medium for the in vitro conversion and maintenance of cells, including pluripotent cells into EPSCs.

The invention provides culture platforms, cell media, and methods of differentiating pluripotent cells into hematopoietic cells. The invention further provides pluripotent stem cell-derived hematopoietic cells generated using the culture platforms and methods disclosed herein, which enable feed-free, monolayer culturing and in the absence of EB formation. Specifically, pluripotent stem cell-derived hematopoietic cell of this invention include, and not limited to, iHSC, definitive hemogenic endothelium, hematopoietic multipotent progenitors, T cell progenitors, NK cell progenitors, T cells, NK cells, NKT cells and B cells.