Disclosed herein are media for culture of cells, tissues, and/or organs. The media formulations disclosed herein can be used to support growth, viability, and/or function of one or more than one cell type, tissue, or organ. In some embodiments, one or more cell types, tissues, organ devices, and/or organs are contacted with a disclosed culture medium under conditions sufficient to support growth, viability, and/or function of the cell types, tissues, and/or organs. The disclosed media can be used in methods of culturing multiple cell types, and in some examples, is used in a platform device including one or more organ devices, for example, by circulating the medium through the one or more organ devices in the platform.

The invention is in the domain of delivery of molecules to brain cells across the blood-brain barrier. The invention relates to a novel polypeptide-based carrier that allows the efficient delivery of an effector peptide, to neuron cells across the blood-brain barrier, and to methods for the production and testing of such carrier, including a model for testing the capacity of such molecule to cross the blood-brain barrier and/or the toxicity of molecules on the blood brain barrier and/or the capacity of molecules that have crossed to target human brain cells (e/g. neurons, astrocytes and microglial cells).

A microfluidic device is contemplated comprising an open-top cavity with structural anchors on the vertical wall surfaces that serve to prevent gel shrinkage-induced delamination, a porous membrane (optionally stretchable) positioned in the middle over a microfluidic channel(s). The device is particularly suited to the growth of cells mimicking dermal layers.

The disclosure discloses a biomarker in osteoporosis intervention therapy by bone peptide, the biomarker including a lipid and lipid-like molecule, an organic acid and its derivative, and/or a neurotransmitter, wherein the lipid and lipid-like molecule includes one or more of taurine, arachidonic acid, 1-palmitoyl-2-hydroxy-sn-glycerol-3-phosphoethanolamine, (4Z, 7Z,10Z,13Z,16Z,19Z)-4,7,10,13,16,19-docosahexaenoic acid, 1-stearoyl-2-hydroxy-sn-glycerol-3-phosphocholine, taurodeoxycholic acid, taurochenodeoxycholate or taurocholic acid. The disclosure discloses a screening method of a biomarker in the anti-osteoporosis activity of bone peptide. The disclosure discloses a use of the biomarker.

The present invention relates to expandable liver organoids, a medium composition for differentiation thereof, and a method for producing liver organoids using the same, and the liver organoids according to the present invention exhibit the characteristics of more mature hepatocytes than 2D differentiated hepatocytes, can be subcultured up to 90 times or more, and exhibit the expandability for maintaining the characteristics of mature hepatocytes even after multiple subcultures, and thus can be usefully utilized for predicting toxicity, regeneration, and inflammatory response, drug screening, and modeling of diseases such as hepatic steatosis.

An object is to prepare an intestinal organoid having a characteristic close to the small intestine of a living body, from a pluripotent stem cell. An intestinal organoid is prepared from a pluripotent stem cell, by the following steps of: (1) differentiating the pluripotent stem cell into an endoderm-like cell; (2) differentiating the endoderm-like cell obtained in step (1) into an intestinal stem cell-like cell; (3) culturing the intestinal stem cell-like cell obtained in step (2) in the presence of an epidermal growth factor, a fibroblast growth factor, a TGF β receptor inhibitor, a GSK-3 β inhibitor, and a ROCK inhibitor; (4) culturing the cell obtained in step (3) to form a spheroid; and (5) differentiating the spheroid formed in step (4) to form an intestinal organoid, wherein the differentiation includes culturing in the presence of an epidermal growth factor, a BMP inhibitor, and a Wnt signal activator. Also, a plane culture system is prepared by subjecting the cells constituting the intestinal organoid formed in step (5) to plane culture in the presence of an epidermal growth factor and a TGF β receptor inhibitor. A highly functional evaluation system having the villi structure is constructed by using air-liquid interface culture in the plane culture.

The invention provides integrated Organ-on-Chip microphysiological systems representations of living Organs and support structures for such microphysiological systems.

An in vitro cell culture substrate is disclosed. The substrate comprises a decellularized tissue-specific extracellular matrix, wherein the tissue-specific extracellular matrix is derived from fibrotic tissue. A method of method of assessing an in vitro fibrotic cell culture is also disclosed. The method comprises providing one or more substrates comprising decellularized tissue-specific extracellular matrix derived from fibrotic tissue, where each substrate is provided in segregated manner. The method further comprises culturing native cells in each substrate to form a fibrotic cell culture. The method further comprises assessing at least one characteristic of each fibrotic cell culture.

The present disclosure provides isolated polypeptides with vitamin D3 binding activity and methods for their use as detection agents. In another aspect, the invention provides recombinant expression vector comprising an isolated nucleic acid of the invention operably linked to a control sequence. In another aspect, the invention provides recombinant host cells comprising the recombinant expression vector of the invention. In another aspect, the invention provides methods for detecting vitamin D3 or one of its metabolites, such as 25-D3, comprising contacting a sample of interest with a detectable polypeptide of the invention.

The presently disclosed subject matter provides hydrogel precursor compositions (e.g., solutions) for forming three-dimensional hydrogels that support growth of physiologically relevant tissue when at least one cell is cultured in the three-dimensional hydrogel, kits comprising the hydrogel precursor composition, three-dimensional hydrogels, methods of forming the three-dimensional hydrogels, methods of growing the physiologically relevant tissue using the three-dimensional hydrogels, physiologically relevant tissue grown in the three-dimensional hydrogels, methods of producing hormone-responsive tissue (e.g., milk-producing mammary tissue and related methods of producing milk), methods of screening for candidate agents useful for modulating hormonal responses (e.g., modulating milk production), method of screening for candidate therapeutic agents using the physiologically relevant tissue grown in the three-dimensional hydrogels (e.g., personalized cancer treatments), and related methods of treatment (e.g., administering agents identified using the methods herein, transplanting physiologically relevant tissue produced using the methods, etc.).