The invention provides for methods of differentiating pancreatic endocrine cells into pancreatic beta cells expressing PDX1, NKX6.1, MAFA, UCN3 and SLC2A. These pancreatic beta cells may be obtained by step-wise differentiation of pluripotent stem cells. The pancreatic beta cells exhibit glucose-dependent mitochondrial respiration and glucose-stimulated insulin secretion similar to islet cells.

Methods are described for producing enteroendocrine cells that make and secrete insulin in a mammal by blocking the expression or biological activity of one or more forkhead box O (Foxo) proteins or biologically active fragments or variants thereof.

A 2D organoid for infection and growth culture of human diarrhea virus, obtained by: (1) obtaining a 3D organoid by three-dimensionally culturing a human intestinal epithelial stem cell, a human intestinal epithelial cell, or a tissue containing at least any of those cells on an extracellular matrix; and (2) dispersing the 3D organoid to prepare a single cell, and monolayer-culturing the single cell on an extracellular matrix to obtain the 2D organoid having a monolayer structure in which epithelial cells contain differentiated trophoblastic cells and goblet cells and configured as human intestinal lumen having a monolayer structure.

The embodiments of the invention described herein relate to systems and methods for culturing and/or maintaining intestinal cells, tissues and/or organoids in vitro. The cells, tissues and/or organoids cultured according to the methods and systems described herein can mimic or reproduce natural intestinal epithelial structures and behavior as well as support co-culture of intestinal microflora.

A method of treating colorectal cancer included placing a high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) probe proximate a designated treatment volume at one of the colon and the rectum of a patient. The method further includes delivering HIFU via the HIFU probe at a frequency of at least 1 mHz for at least 3 seconds to raise a temperature of a first portion of the designated treatment volume to above 65 C., thereby ablating the first portion and causing a tissue defect within the designated treatment volume. The method further includes applying a nonablative dose of energy via the HIFU probe to a second portion of the designated treatment volume to provoke stem cell homing in the second portion, thereby encouraging tissue regrowth.

The invention provides methods for producing arrays of organoids, the arrays thereof and uses of such arrays.

It is an object to provide a culture method which is capable of maintaining and/or culturing iPS cell-derived intestinal stem cells, while maintaining the properties of intestinal stem cells. The induced pluripotent stem cell-derived intestinal stem cell-like cells are cultured in the presence of a GSK-3 inhibitor, a histone deacetylation inhibitor, and a serum replacement, or in the presence of a GSK-3 inhibitor and a serum replacement. Preferably, the culture is carried out under conditions in which one or more compounds selected from the group consisting of an epidermal growth factor, a TGF receptor inhibitor and a fibroblast growth factor are further present.

The embodiments of the invention described herein relate to systems and methods for culturing and/or maintaining intestinal cells, tissues and/or organoids in vitro. The cells, tissues and/or organoids cultured according to the methods and systems described herein can mimic or reproduce natural intestinal epithelial structures and behavior as well as support co-culture of intestinal microflora.

The present invention provides compositions and methods for the culture and maintenance of pluripotent stem cells. More particularly, the present invention provides for compositions and methods for culturing, maintaining, growing and stabilizing primate pluripotent stem cells in a feeder-free defined media further comprising human serum, or a soluble attachment component of the human serum, for promoting cell attachment.

Disclosed herein are cell cultures comprising definitive endoderm cells and methods of producing the same. Also disclosed herein are cell populations comprising substantially purified definitive endoderm cells as well as methods for enriching, isolating and purifying definitive endoderm cells from other cell types.