Kidney tissue-derived stem cells or organoids according to the present invention are easy to apply for treatment, may be supplied in large amounts due to their high self-renewal capacity, have an excellent ability to differentiate into kidney cells, are less likely to form tumors, and have an excellent ability to regenerate damaged tissue when injected directly into lesions. Therefore, they may be used very suitably for regenerative therapy based on adult stem cells among these stem cells. In addition, a composition according to the present invention is capable of specifically selecting only kidney tissue-derived stem cells among kidney cells. Furthermore, kidney tissue-derived stem cells expressing Lrig1 protein or a gene encoding the same have excellent self-renewal and pluripotent abilities and are able to differentiate into nephrons, and thus they may be used very effectively for the prevention or treatment of kidney disease.

Non-human animal models of neurodegenerative disorders for use in determining efficacy of anti-neurodegenerative, anti-epileptogenic and disorder-modifying pharmaceutical compositions and/or therapies.

Disclosed herein are conditioning regimens and methods for inducing MHC- or HLA-mismatched mixed chimerism by conditioning a recipient with radiation-free, low-doses of cyclophosphamide (CY), pentostatin (PT), and anti-thymocyte globulin (ATG) prior to transplantation of donor bone marrow cells. In certain embodiments, the donor bone marrow cells may be CD4+ T-depleted bone marrow cells. The conditioning regimens and methods may also include administering one or more populations of conditioning donor cells selected from donor CD4.sup.+ T-depleted spleen cells, donor CD8.sup.+ T cells, and donor G-CSF-mobilized peripheral blood mononuclear cells. The conditioning regimen is clinically acceptable and can be used for treating hereditary hematological diseases and autoimmune diseases, as well as for promoting organ transplantation immune tolerance.

Variable-scale, modular, easily manufacturable, energy efficient, reliable, and computer operated Insect Production Superstructure Systems (IPSS) and Farming Superstructure Systems (FSS) may be used to produce cannabis, insects, and psilocybin mushrooms for human and animal consumption, and for the extraction and use of lipids, drugs, and chemicals for applications involving medicine, nanotechnology, consumer products, pharmaceuticals, pet food, and chemical production with minimal water, feedstock, and environmental impact.

The present invention includes compositions and methods for treating diseases or disorders associated with pathological calcification or pathological ossification. In certain embodiments, the diseases or disorders are selected from the group consisting of Generalized Arterial Calcification of Infancy (GACI), Idiopathic Infantile Arterial Calcification (IIAC), Ossification of the Posterior Longitudinal Ligament (OPLL), hypophosphatemic rickets, osteoarthritis, calcification of atherosclerotic plaques, PXE, hereditary and non-hereditary forms of osteoarthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, hardening of the arteries occurring with aging, calciphylaxis resulting from end stage renal disease and progeria.

Apicomplexan parasites or red blood cells infected with apicomplexan parasites are administered to an animal in combination with a delayed death agent that initially allows parasite replication but subsequently kills the apicomplexan parasites. This allows the elicitation of an immune response by the animal while preventing the parasites producing a serious infection of the animal. The apicomplexan parasites may be malaria or babesia parasites. The delayed death agent may be a tetracycline class antibiotic, a macrolide antibiotic or a lincosamide antibiotic.

A method of constructing humanized murine model using stem cells, includes obtaining human stem cells; transplanting human stem cells into murine with liver damage; and obtaining hepatotropic virus infected humanized murine. It was found that by inducing severe liver damage and transplanting human stem cells, human-derived hepatocytes in murine liver have a high chimeric rate of 50-95%, and human-derived immune cells may exist in murine organs such as spleen, blood, liver, and bone marrow, thereby forming murine model of humanized liver and immune cell. The humanized murines are then infected with various types of hepatotropic viruses to form humanized hepatotropic viral infected murine model. In addition to construction of model for studying hepatotropic viral infection using the technique for constructing the humanized murine model, the concept of this technical solution may also be used for constructing models of other humanized organs.

A genetically modified immunodeficient non-human animal whose genome includes a genetic modification that renders the non-human animal deficient in macrophages and/or macrophage anti-human red blood cell activity so as to prolong the survival of human red blood cells when administered into said non-human animal is provided according to aspects of the present invention. Methods of assaying effects of putative therapeutic agents in such a genetically modified immunodeficient non-human animal are provided by the present invention.

The present invention relates to a method for producing an animal model of preterm birth and an animal model of preterm birth produced by the method. The animal model of the present invention can be effectively applied to investigate the causes and symptoms of preterm birth induced by cervical injury. The mortality rate of the animal model according to the present invention is low until preterm birth despite its induced preterm birth. In addition, the animal model of the present invention is produced in a higher yield than any other existing model. Furthermore, the preterm birth of the animal model according to the present invention is induced at a desired time point. Due to these advantages, the animal model of the present invention can be effectively applied to investigate the causes and mechanisms of preterm birth. The mortality rate of premature neonates born from the animal model of the present invention is considerably low and the premature neonates are immature. Therefore, the animal model of the present invention can be effectively applied to studies on complications of premature neonates.

The present invention relates to microbiota compositions and their preparation methods and uses. Particularly, the present invention provides microbiota compositions collected from a dual-specificity phosphatase 6 (dusp6) deficient mammal, which is effective in altering a relative abundance of gut microbiota and also useful in reducing body weight, fat mass, and/or size of adipocytes and increasing oxygen consumption and/or energy expenditure and thus can be used to treat or prevent obesity or its associated disorders or conditions in a subject in need.