The present invention provides improved and/or shortened methods for expanding TILs and producing therapeutic populations of TILs, including novel methods for expanding TIL populations in a closed system that lead to improved efficacy, improved phenotype, and increased metabolic health of the TILs in a shorter time period, while allowing for reduced microbial contamination as well as decreased costs. The methods may comprise gene-editing at least a portion of the TILs to enhance their therapeutic efficacy. Such TILs find use in therapeutic treatment regimens.

The present invention relates to methods for reprogramming somatic cells into pluripotent stem cell-like cells. Such cells may express pluripotency inducing genes including Oct4, Nanog and Sox2 without introducing exogeneous genes, proteins, or chemicals. The discovery that the inhibition of mechanosensitive and stretch-activated ion channels in somatic cells specifically activates pluripotency inducing factor genes inspired the cell reprogramming culture methods in which somatic cells were incubated with the inhibitor, GsMTX4, against mechanosensitive and stretch-activated ion channels, cultured on the soft hydrogel surface, or treated with cholesterol depletion substance, methyl-beta-cyclodextrin (MβCD). Described methods produce pluripotent stem cell-like cells and subsequently re-differentiated cells, which include adipocytes, osteocytes, neuronal cells. Methods may be combined to increase the efficiency of the somatic cell reprogramming A somatic cell reprogramming kit was also created with tissue culture dishes casted with hydrogel (dehydrated) and MβCD.

Provided herein are methods for preparing hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) having enhanced engraftment activity, for example, by contacting HSCs in the presence of a p38 MAPK inhibitor and a HIF-1a stabilizer.

The present invention concerns a biomarker useful in adoptive cell therapy. The biomarker in question is CD150, otherwise termed SLAM or SLAMF1. Herein Applicants demonstrate that expression of CD150 on tumour infiltrating lymphocytes infusion products correlates with the response rate seen in those patients. High CD150 expression is found on patients who go on to have a complete response and low expression on patients who do not respond to therapy. The invention relates to the use of the biomarker to predict response rate or stratify patients for treatment. It also covers exploitation of this receptor in adoptive cell therapy regimens in general, including but not limited to over expression of the receptor in T-cell populations or isolation of cells expressing CD150 in an effort to increase efficacy.

The present invention relates to a method of preparing induced neural stem cells which are reprogrammed from differentiated cells. The method of producing the induced neural stem cells according to the present invention enables preparation of the induced neural stem cells from non-neuronal cells using only two inducing factors of SOX2 and HMGA2. Therefore, the method of the present invention can prepare induced neural stem cells in a more efficient manner than the conventional methods, which use four or five inducing factors. Additionally, the method of the present invention shows significantly higher inducing efficiency and proliferation capacity than when only a single SOX2 gene is used, thus increasing its potency to be used for therapeutic purposes.

The present invention relates to a novel process of producing therapeutic GMP grade Müller cells and Miller cells obtainable therefrom, derived from stem cells using products that are free of animal-derived components. The Müller cells are suitable for treatment of eye disease, including glaucoma. There is also provided a cell culture medium.

The present invention provides methods to promote the differentiation of pluripotent stem cells and the products related to or resulting from such methods. In particular, the present invention provides an improved method for the formation of pancreatic hormone expressing cells and pancreatic hormone secreting cells. In addition, the present invention also provides methods to promote the differentiation of pluripotent stem cells without the use of a feeder cell layer and the products related to or resulting from such methods. The present invention also provides methods to promote glucose-stimulated insulin secretion in insulin-producing cells derived from pluripotent stem cells.

Methods for generating high-yield, high-purity epicardial cells are described. Wnt/β-catenin signaling is first activated in human cardiac progenitor cells, by, for example, inhibiting Gsk-3 to induce differentiation into epicardial cells. Methods for long-term in vitro maintenance of human cardiac progenitor cell-derived epicardial cells and method comprising chemically defined, xeno-free, and albumin-free culture conditions are also provided.

Provided by the disclosure are compositions and methods for modulating differentiation of regulatory T cells. In some embodiments, methods include selectively decreasing IL-23R activity and/or IL-23R expression without significantly decreasing IL-12RP activity and/or IL-12RP expression.

Methods and compositions for treating cancer are disclosed. The compositions comprise immune cells pretreated with ponatinib, or immune cells co-administered with ponatinib, where ponatinib promotes survival and anti-cancer cytotoxicity of the immune cells.