Disclosed herein are organoids, or compositions thereof, produced through a process of aggregating gut endoderm monolayer and culturing the resultant gut endoderm aggregate. Examples of these aggregated organoids include but are not limited to aggregated liver organoids, aggregated gastric organoids, aggregated intestinal organoids, and aggregated colonic organoids.

A production method for a proliferative liver organoid includes culturing liver stem cells or a tissue fragment including liver stem cells in a growth medium to obtain a proliferative liver organoid, in which the growth medium contains an interleukin-6 family cytokine. A production method for a metabolically activated liver organoid includes culturing the proliferative liver organoid produced by the production method for a proliferative liver organoid in a differentiation medium to obtain a metabolically activated liver organoid, in which the differentiation medium does not substantially contain an interleukin-6 family cytokine.

A method of expanding deficient T-cells by expressing pTalpha or functional variants thereof into said cells, thereby restoring a functional CD3 complex. This method is particularly useful to enhance the efficiency of immunotherapy using primary T-cells from donors. This method involves the use of pTalpha or functional variants thereof and polynucleotides encoding such polypeptides to expand TCRalpha deficient T-cells. Such engineered cells can be obtained by using specific rare-cutting endonuclease, preferably TALE-nucleases. The use of Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR), especially multi-chain CAR, in such engineered cells to target malignant or infected cells. The invention opens the way to standard and affordable adoptive immunotherapy strategies for treating cancer and viral infections.

A population of Brown adipose tissue (BAT) cells generated from embryonic stem cells (ES) or induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS), called iBAT, the use thereof, methods to obtain iBAT by directed differentiation of ES/iPS, and media compositions to obtain iBAT.

Compositions, kits, and methods for preparing nutrient compositions are provided. A nutrient composition can be a food composition such as a dairy composition. A nutrient composition may be produced by an engineered cell composition. Compositions, kits, and methods for preparing engineered cell compositions for producing nutrient compositions are also provided. An engineered cell composition may comprise genetically engineered cells, such as genetically engineered mammary or mammary-like cells. An engineered cell composition can be derived from mammalian stem cells, such as non-mammary adult stem cells. Related methods of characterization, such as for characterizing the engineered cell compositions or the nutrient compositions, are also provided.

Described herein is a method of generating in-vitro differentiated airway basal cells and compositions thereof. Also described herein is a method of treating a pulmonary disease comprising administering the in-vitro differentiated airway basal cells and compositions thereof. In another aspect, described herein is a disease model comprising patient-derived or genetically modified in-vitro differentiated airway basal cells and compositions thereof.

The present application provides a composition for inducing chondrogenesis comprising an Wnt antagonist and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier. The present application also provides a method for inducing chondrogenesis comprising administering an Wnt antagonist and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier to a subject. The present application further provides a method for treating a cartilage-related disease comprising administering a therapeutically effective amount of an Wnt antagonist and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier to a subject.

Methods are provided for producing a population of hepatocyte-like cells (iHeps) from a population of adipocyte-derived stem cells (ASCs). Aspects of the methods include placing a population of ASCs into a three dimensional culture (e.g., hanging drop suspension culture, high density culture, spinner flask culture, microcarrier culture, etc.), and contacting the cells with a first and second culture medium. Also provided are methods of treating an individual, which include producing a population of iHeps from a population of ASCs, and administering an effective number of iHeps into the individual. Kits for practicing the methods are also described herein.

This invention provides a method for stably producing type II alveolar epithelial cells from pluripotent stem cells. Specifically, the invention relates to a method for producing type II alveolar epithelial cells from pluripotent stem cells comprising steps of: (1) culturing pluripotent stem cells in a medium containing activin A and a GSK3β inhibitor; (2) culturing the cells obtained in Step (1) in a medium containing a BMP inhibitor and a TGFβ inhibitor; (3) culturing the cells obtained in Step (2) in a medium containing BMP4, retinoic acid, and a GSK3β inhibitor; (4) culturing the ventral anterior foregut cells obtained in Step (3) in a medium containing a GSK3β inhibitor, FGF10, KGF, and a NOTCH signal inhibitor; and (5) subjecting the alveolar epithelial progenitor cells obtained in Step (4) to three-dimensional culture in a medium containing a steroid drug, a cAMP derivative, a phosphodiesterase inhibitor, and KGF.

The present invention provides muscle-derived progenitor cells that show long-term survival following transplantation into body tissues and which can augment non-soft tissue following introduction (e.g. via injection, transplantation, or implantation) into a site of non-soft tissue (e.g. bone). Also provided are methods of isolating muscle-derived progenitor cells, and methods of genetically modifying the cells for gene transfer therapy. The invention further provides methods of using compositions comprising muscle-derived progenitor cells for the augmentation and bulking of mammalian, including human, bone tissues in the treatment of various functional conditions, including osteoporosis, Paget's Disease, osteogenesis imperfecta, bone fracture, osteomalacia, decrease in bone trabecular strength, decrease in bone cortical strength and decrease in bone density with old age.