A sheet-shaped cell culture comprising skeletal myoblasts for treating liver dysfunction or improving liver function. A method for producing the sheet-shaped cell culture, including a step of seeding a cell population comprising skeletal myoblasts on a culture substrate, a step of forming a sheet of the cell population into a sheet to form a sheet-shaped cell culture, and a step of detaching the formed sheet-shaped cell culture from the culture substrate. A method for treating liver dysfunction, including a step of applying the sheet-shaped cell culture to a site exhibiting the liver dysfunction.

Disclosed are methods of obtaining an expanded population of mammalian ex vivo cells for treating a mammalian subject by (a) administering to a subject an effective amount of an agent that confers a growth disadvantage to at least a subset of endogenous cells at the site of engraftment; (b) administering to the subject an effective amount of a mitogenic stimulus for the ex vivo cells; and (c) administering the ex vivo cells to the subject, wherein the ex vivo cells engraft at the site and proliferate to a greater extent than the subset of endogenous cells, to repopulate at least a portion of the engraftment site with the ex vivo cells. The repopulated cells can be harvested or left at the engraftment site. Methods of treating brain injury in a subject by engrafting ex vivo cells at the site of injury are also described.

The invention relates to low-molecular-weight compounds which are capable of inducing differentiation of mesenchymal stem cell into hepatocytes.

The present invention provides biomatrix scaffolds, a tissue extract enriched for extracellular matrix components and bound growth factors, cytokines and hormones, and methods of making and using same.

A method of repairing diseased or dysfunctional pancreas or liver is provided. The method involves preparation of a suspension of stem cells and/or progenitor cells such as biliary tree stem cells, hepatic stem cells, pancreatic stem cells or their descendants, committed progenitor cells, from healthy tissue of the patient or of the biliary tree of a non-autologous donor and engrafting the cells into the wall of bile ducts near to the organ to be treated. The graft consists of stem cells or progenitors that are admixed with biomaterials and, optionally, with cytokines and/or native epithelial-mesenchymal cells appropriate for the maturational lineage stage of the cells to be engrafted. The cells are specifically introduced to the hepato-pancreatic common duct of the subject for treatment of pancreatic conditions or to the bile duct wall near to the liver for treatment of liver conditions and allowed to migrate to the pancreas or to the liver and expand and then rebuild part or the entirety of the diseased or dysfunctional organ.

A cell or tissue embedding device having an aqueous gel serving as an immunoisolation layer, the aqueous gel containing, as components thereof, a denatured polyvinyl alcohol resin having an activated carbonyl group and a crosslinking agent is highly capable of supplying a physiologically active substance.

Described are methods for producing tissue constructs, tissue constructs produced by the methods, and their use. The described method of producing a tissue construct comprises providing a granular tissue, depositing one or more filaments on or in the granular tissue, each filament comprising an ink, and gelling or fusing the granular tissue, thereby producing the tissue construct.

Methods for decellularizing organs and tissues in vitro and in vivo are provided, as are methods of maintaining organ and tissue frameworks and methods of recellularizing organs and tissues, thereby providing an approach to needed organs or tissues.

A method for obtaining epithelial organoids is provided. In one embodiment, the method comprises culturing one or more epithelial ducts, epithelial duct fragments and/or epithelial stem cells isolated therefrom in contact with an extracellular matrix in the presence of a basal medium, wherein the medium is free of FGF and/or nicotinamide. Organoids obtained by the methods described herein, and uses thereof, are also provided.

Described are methods for producing tissue constructs, tissue constructs produced by the methods, and their use. The described method of producing a tissue construct comprises providing a granular tissue, depositing one or more filaments on or in the granular tissue, each filament comprising an ink, and gelling or fusing the granular tissue, thereby producing the tissue construct.