The disclosure relates to the substantially non-invasive diagnosis of liver disease, especially to enable intervention in the progression of such disease at an early stage. This invention further relates to the use of plasma biomarkers to differentiate nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) from nonalcoholic fatty liver (NAFL) and non-nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), and normal controls. Specifically, the invention relates to the use of free eicosanoids and other polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) metabolite levels in plasma to differentiate NASH from NAFL and non-NAFLD normal controls.

A method is described for using live mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) in a way which allows for identification of patients likely to respond to immunosuppressive treatment using MSCs. The method involves contacting a sample from said patient with live MSCs in vitro, and determining whether the sample is able to induce at least some apoptosis to occur in live MSCs in vitro, or detection of elevated levels of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2). The ability of the sample to induce said apoptosis and/or elevated levels of PGE2 is indicative of responsiveness of said patient to said immunosuppressive treatment and/or indicative of fitness to recover. Also provided are apoptotic MSCs for use in the treatment of immune-mediated disease or conditions, such as allo-immune or autoimmune disease, or for the prevention or treatment of rejection of a transplanted organ; or in regenerative medicine to stimulate tissue repair. Methods for preparing pharmaceutical compositions comprising the apoptotic MSCs are also described and claimed.

A method is described for using live mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) in a way which allows for identification of patients likely to respond to immunosuppressive treatment using MSCs. The method involves contacting a sample from said patient with live MSCs in vitro, and determining whether the sample is able to induce at least some apoptosis to occur in live MSCs in vitro, or detection of elevated levels of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2). The ability of the sample to induce said apoptosis and/or elevated levels of PGE2 is indicative of responsiveness of said patient to said immunosuppressive treatment and/or indicative of fitness to recover. Also provided are apoptotic MSCs for use in the treatment of immune-mediated disease or conditions, such as allo-immune or autoimmune disease, or for the prevention or treatment of rejection of a transplanted organ; or in regenerative medicine to stimulate tissue repair. Methods for preparing pharmaceutical compositions comprising the apoptotic MSCs are also described and claimed.

Diagnosing an oxidative stress (OS) in companion animals comprises screening a bodily fluid sample to detect the presence of an OS biomarker, selectively isoprostane and antioxidants, HODE, microRNAs, TAC, GSH, MDA, and TNF-alpha. The sample can be saliva.

The invention provides methods for predicting whether compounds are cardiotoxic by analyzing their effects on the ratios of concentrations of metabolites in cultured heart muscle cells.

Various biological markers that function as indicators of the level of senescent cells in an organism are provided. In certain embodiments, the markers described herein (e.g., eicosanoids) can provide effective indicators of the presence and/or quantity of senescent cells in a subject (e.g., in a human or non-human mammal) and methods of identifying elevated levels of senescent cells in a mammal, and methods for determining the efficacy of senolytic agents, are provided.

Various biological markers that function as indicators of the level of senescent cells in an organism are provided. In certain embodiments, the markers described herein (e.g., eicosanoids) can provide effective indicators of the presence and/or quantity of senescent cells in a subject (e.g., in a human or non-human mammal) and methods of identifying elevated levels of senescent cells in a mammal, and methods for determining the efficacy of senolytic agents, are provided.

The present disclosure related to methods for assessing potency of cells in a preparation of cells. The methods provided herein utilize an increased cell culture time, e.g., recovery time, prior to assessing cell potency, as compared to standard cell potency assays used in the art. It has been determined that incorporating such an increased cell culture time results in increased assay reliability and decreased variability across cell preparations taken from same cell lot, as well as cell preparations comprising the same cell type but taken from different cell lots.

The present disclosure related to methods for assessing potency of cells in a preparation of cells. The methods provided herein utilize an increased cell culture time, e.g., recovery time, prior to assessing cell potency, as compared to standard cell potency assays used in the art. It has been determined that incorporating such an increased cell culture time results in increased assay reliability and decreased variability across cell preparations taken from same cell lot, as well as cell preparations comprising the same cell type but taken from different cell lots.

The disclosure relates to novel epitopes specific for narcolepsy and their uses in methods for evaluating a subject for narcolepsy, in medical and diagnostic devices and in therapy.