Mesenchymal stem cells may be efficiently obtained from a biological cell sample containing mesenchymal stem cells by: (1) culturing the biological cell sample containing mesenchymal stem cells in a serum-free medium in the presence of vitronectin or a partial peptide thereof capable of adhering mesenchymal stem cells, and (2) collecting a cell aggregate of the mesenchymal stem cells.

The invention relates to differentiation methods for progenitor cells, e.g. mammalian epithelial stem cells, differentiation media for use in said methods, organoids and cells obtainable by said methods and uses, including therapeutic uses, thereof.

The present invention relates to stem cells derived from a multi-layered cellular structure or blastocyst structure, compositions comprising the same, and methods for obtaining the same.

A cell culture medium comprising adenosine triphosphate; a carrier protein; cholesterol, linoleic acid, and lipoic acid; glutathione; at least one nucleotide salvage pathway precursor base; phosphoethanolamine; selenium; transferrin; triiodothyronine; all-trans-retinoic acid (ATRA) and vitamin C; zinc, magnesium, and copper; an agent that increases intracellular cAMP; epidermal growth factor (EGF); hydrocortisone; insulin; and charcoal stripped fetal bovine serum, wherein said cell culture medium is substantially free, if not entirely free, of vitamin D, androgenic hormones, androgenic ligands, estrogenic hormones, estrogenic ligands, and/or androgenic receptors.

Liver metabolism studies are limited by the inability to expand primary hepatocytes in vitro while maintaining their metabolic functions. Human hepatic three dimensional organoids have been established for use in these studies, but hepatic organoids from adult donors had impaired expansion. Methods of achieving expansion of adult donor-derived hepatic organoids (HepAOs) and HepG2 cells (HepGOs) from single cells in organoid cultures using combinations of growth factors and small molecules are described, with assessment of expansion dynamics, gluconeogenic and HNF4α expression, and albumin secretion. The invention discloses conditions including limiting A8301 and incorporating FSK and OSM to allow the expansion of HepAOs from adult donors and HepGOs with gluconeogenic competence. These models increase the repertoire of human hepatic cellular tools available for use in liver metabolic assays.

The present invention provides muscle-derived progenitor cells that show long-term survival following transplantation into body tissues and which can augment soft tissue following introduction (e.g. via injection, transplantation, or implantation) into a site of soft tissue. 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, soft tissues in the treatment of various functional conditions, including malformation, injury, weakness, disease, or dysfunction. In particular, the present invention provides treatments and amelioration for urinary incontinence and other urinary tract pathologies.

Provided is a method of preparing a hydrogel composition including a uniform content of calcium phosphate, wherein a hydrogel composition prepared by the method has a uniform content of calcium phosphate, and thus may be used to quantify phosphates contained in the hydrogel composition. Provided is an in-vitro 3D osteoporosis model including a calcium phosphate hydrogel composition, wherein osteoblasts and osteoclasts may be three-dimensionally co-cultured inside a biogel, such that the osteoporosis model may be fabricated according to an intended use or clinical stage. Further, the model contains a calcium phosphate hydrogel with a uniform content of phosphate and thus enables quantification of calcium phosphate through measurement of phosphates, and therefore, the model may be used to screen candidate compounds for an osteoporosis drug and may effectively predict therapeutic effects of the drug on osteoporosis.

The invention relates to a neural tissue unit for use in implantation into the nervous system of a human or non-human mammal, wherein said neural tissue unit contains differentiated post-mitotic neuronal cells in an extracellular matrix, said unit being obtained from a cellular microcompartment comprising a hydrogel capsule surrounding the neural tissue unit, and said hydrogel capsule being at least partially removed before use of the neural tissue unit. The invention also relates to a process for preparing such a neural tissue unit.

Spheroid microtissues that can mimic native tissue-like structure and function, spheroid production methods that are high-throughput, suitable for efficient production, maintainable over long-term culture, and/or offer repeatable control over size distribution. Spheroids that have blood vessels, including spheroids with functional, blood-perfused vascular networks upon injection in vivo. Dissolvable hydrogel microwell arrays for high throughput parallel formation of spheroids in a single pipetting step and easy retrieval for downstream applications. A method to produce prevascularized microtissues in sufficient numbers to form a macrotissue in vivo for therapeutic purposes. This method is based on sacrificial release of dissolvable microwell templates, a novel and scalable strategy which enables gentle harvesting of microtissues with control over size and composition. The method forms microtissues containing endothelial cells and mesenchymal stem cells, which are co-cultured under dynamic conditions and self-organize into blood-vessel units.

The present invention aims to increase cytotoxic activity of an immunocompetent cell to thereby enhance a therapeutic effect against diseases such as cancers, and provides an immunocompetent cell having decreased diacylglycerol kinase activity, which cell expresses a fusion protein including IL-15 and an IL-15 receptor α subunit, and which cell expresses a chimeric antigen receptor.