This document relates to decellularized nerve allografts. For example, decellularized nerve allografts and methods and materials for using decellularized nerve allografts to repair nerve injuries or bridge a severed nerve are provided.

Methods for the efficient isolation and use of pluripotent adipose-derived stem cells (PASCs) are provided. In certain embodiments the methods involve providing an adipose tissue sample from which the stromal vascular fraction is co-cultured with the adipocyte fraction. PASCs can be isolated with a high degree of purification without requiring an additional cell enrichment process (e.g. cell sorting). PASCs and their conditioned media can be used for tissue regeneration within hours of harvesting the adipose tissue, and without requiring cell expansion. PASCs can grow as floating individual cells, as clusters of cells, or attached to surface(s) of the culture vessel. PASCs do not produce teratomas in vivo, nor do they induce immunorejection upon transplantation, and they achieve a high efficiency in grafting. The cells and compositions can be used for cell therapy and to screen new drugs.

The present invention provides for methods and devices suitable for producing a transplantable cellular suspension of living tissue suitable for promoting tissue regeneration in an epithelium-related procedure, as well as compositions produced therefrom. The cellular suspension can include viable and functioning cells at various stages of differentiation, including undifferentiated/progenitor cells and differentiated cells, as well as those in between. In certain embodiments, the cellular suspension can be subjected to a stress to induce a heat shock response therein, or be exposed to an exogenously supplied agent such as heat shock protein or a fragment thereof, hyaluronic acid, platelet-enriched plasma, and/or growth factors. The cellular suspension can be applied directly to a patient's recipient site for in vivo regeneration, or be cultured or seeded to a matrix for in vitro growth/regeneration.

Provided herein are methods for ex vivo expansion of a T cells including tumor-reactive T cells, and compositions containing such T cells. Also provided are methods for treating diseases and conditions such as cancer using compositions of the present disclosure.

A method for culturing primary cells of gastric cancer and gallbladder cancer and cholangiocarcinoma and auxiliary reagents. A method for culturing primary cells of gastric cancer and gallbladder cancer and cholangiocarcinoma and auxiliary reagents. The core of the technology is that: (1) the solid tumor tissues of gastric cancer and gallbladder cancer and cholangiocarcinoma are treated with a mild cell dissociation reagent, and the primary tumor cells of gallbladder cancer and cholangiocarcinoma in a bile sample are isolated by a mild method to ensure the vitality of cancer cells to the greatest extent; (2) a special serum-free medium is prepared, and tumor cells of gastric cancer and gallbladder cancer and cholangiocarcinoma are cultured in vitro by a suspension culture system to eliminate the interference of normal cells to the greatest extent while ensuring normal amplification of cancer cells.

Novel adult liver progenitor cells (called H2Stem Cells) have been have been characterized on the basis of a series of biological activities and markers. Methods for producing H2Stem Cells allow providing such cells in the form of adherent cells and three-dimensional cell clusters in suspension that can be differentiated into cells having strong liver-specific activities and/or that can be used for treating liver diseases or for evaluating the efficacy, the metabolism, and/or toxicity of a compound.

The present invention relates to: a pharmaceutical composition which is for preventing or treating diabetic skin disease, and comprises, as an active ingredient, an exosome derived from a thrombin-treated stem cell; a pharmaceutical formulation containing said composition; and a method for producing same. In the present invention, an exosome isolated from a thrombin-treated stem cell was found to have an excellent effect on the recovery of diabetic animal models from diabetic dermatopathy. In addition, since exosome-based therapeutics are cell-free formulations and thus do not include DNA, such therapeutics have a low risk of cancer and are free of cell surface antigens. Accordingly, exosome-based therapeutics do not have the issue of transplant rejection and are thus safe. Accordingly, the exosome derived from a thrombin-treated stem cell according to the present invention can be developed as a therapeutic agent for various intractable chronic skin diseases that can be caused by diabetes.

Provided herein are modified caspase-9 polypeptides, and chimeric caspase-9 proteins containing the modified caspase-9 polypeptides. The disclosure further provides polynucleotides encoding these proteins, engineered host cells containing these polynucleotides and proteins, including host cells that co-express a chimeric antigen receptor, and methods of making and using the same.

Disclosed herein are cell cultures and enriched cell populations of endocrine precursor cells, immature pancreatic hormone-expressing cells and mature pancreatic hormone-expressing cells. Also disclosed herein are methods of producing such cell cultures and cell populations.

Methods of treating alopecia, connective tissue disease, or chronic skin wounds in a subject by administration of a therapeutically effective amount of a novel acellular human amnion-derived composition are disclosed. The novel acellular human amnion-derived composition is generally characterized as containing: one or more tissue-remodeling biomolecules, one or more proliferation biomolecules, one or more angiogenic biomolecules, one or more migration biomolecules, one or more anti-inflammatory biomolecules, and one or more anti-microbial biomolecules. Moreover, the acellular human amnion-derived composition is sterilized under conditions that preserve biological functionality and efficacy. Other features and characteristics of the treatment methods and compositions are described.