Provided is reproducible means that enables production of nucleus pulposus progenitor cells (preferably, an active nucleus pulposus progenitor cell phenotype) from desired cells such as terminally differentiated cells and stem cells having pluripotency or multipotency. A nucleus pulposus progenitor cell inducer according to the present invention comprising an effective amount of a gene of Brachyury (T) or a homolog thereof, at least one selected from the group consisting of SRY-box6 (SOX6) or a homolog thereof and Forkhead Box Q1 (FOXQ1) or a homolog thereof, and MYC Proto-Oncogene, BHLH Transcription Factor (cMyc) or a homolog thereof (nucleus pulposus progenitor cell master regulator transcription factor), or a product thereof.

The present disclosure concerns a microglia progenitor cell derived from bone marrow and/or placental stromal cells and/or umbilical cord stromal cell and methods for their isolation; as well as use of said cells for therapy of disorders of the CNS.

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.

The invention provides methods, compositions, uses and kits relating to exosomes isolated from progenitor cells.

Non-naturally occurring vesicles derived from bacteria, e.g., pathogenic bacteria, methods for making the vesicles, and methods for using compositions of these vesicles are disclosed. Methods of using the vesicles include prevention and/or treatment of bacterial infections. Also provided herein are compositions that include vesicles derived front bacteria and tumor vesicles, methods for making the tumor vesicles, and methods for using the compositions of bacterial vesicles and tumor vesicles. Methods of using the compositions of bacterial vesicles and tumor vesicles include treatment of cancer in a subject. Tumor vesicles may be derived from cancer cells present in the subject to be treated or from a cancer cell line expressing at least one neoantigen. The neoantigen may be specific to the subject and may have been identified by sequencing of the cancer cells from the subject. The neoantigen may be a neoantigen known to be commonly expressed in a particular type of cancer.

The present disclosure provides a method for obtaining osteoblast cell-mixture which can be used for transplantation of osteoblast cells in a subject. The present disclosure further discloses a method for delivering osteoblast cells into a subject. The method for obtaining osteoblast cell-mixture as disclosed herein is devoid of any additives like calcium chloride and aprotinin. The method for delivering osteoblast cells as disclosed herein provides bone regeneration in the subject.

The present disclosure discloses a method for isolating osteoprogenitors like mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) from clotted bone marrow and culturing with a platelet lysate obtained from a combination of discarded umbilical cord blood and maternal blood platelet-rich plasma (instead of non-human animal origin serum) and differentiating those MSCs into osteoblasts under sterile conditions for further therapeutic applications. Particularly, the present disclosure relates to a method for expansion of osteoblasts to make cell therapy products with a fixed cell dose, which are characterized and later cryopreserved for future use through its cell culture process. Further, the present disclosure relates to identifying specific gene expression from MSCs to osteoblast formation, an in-vitro differentiation process that replicates the in-vivo bone remodelling system.

A method for producing a functional, vascularized organoid or spheroid is provided, the method including: (a) mixing a suspension of stromal cells with microvessel (MV) fragments isolated from adipose tissue to provide an MV/stromal cell suspension; and (b) culturing the MV/stromal cell suspension in an angiogenic medium to provide the functional, vascularized organoid or spheroid. Also provided is a method for producing a functional, vascularized adipocyte organoid or spheroid and a method of screening compounds for pharmacological or toxicological activity, using the vascularized organoids and/or spheroids provided herein.

An object of the present invention is to provide a method capable of inexpensively and conveniently preparing cells having pluripotency and a very low risk of tumorigenic transformation. The cells can be prepared by suspension-culturing mammalian mesenchymal stem cells such as human mesenchymal stem cells from bone marrow (hMSC-BM) and human adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hAT-MSC) (also referred to as “human adipose-derived stem cells [hADSC]”), 7 types of human adherent mature cells (human hepatocyte cells [hHEP cells], human umbilical vein endothelial cells [HUVEC cells], human dermal lymphatic microvascular endothelial cells [HMVEC cells], human epidermal keratinocyte cells [NHEK cells], human bronchial epithelial cells [NHBE cells], human melanocyte cells [NHEM cells], and human smooth muscle cells [UASMC cells]), and 3 types of human adherent precursor cells (human dermal fibroblast cells [NHDF cells], human skeletal muscle myoblast cells [HSMM cells], and human osteoblast cells [NHOst cells]) to form cell masses (spheroids).

The present application provides materials and methods for treating a patient with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and/or Frontaltemporal Lobular Degeneration (FTLD), both ex vivo and in vivo. In addition, the present application provides materials and methods for editing to modulate the expression, function or activity of the C9ORF72 gene in a cell by genome editing.