A cell-containing structure is provided that allows ready-to-use nerve drug response evaluation with high reproducibility to be easily performed. The cell-containing structure for evaluating an electrical property of neurons includes: (a) a culture surface to which the neurons are able to be adhered; (b) a cell mass that is adhered to the culture surface and contains at least one of the neurons; and (c) a plurality of electrodes for measuring the electrical property of the cell mass, wherein a spontaneous firing frequency of cells contained in the cell mass is 0.25 Hz or more per electrode.

A method for producing renal stromal cells, comprising a step (3) of culturing renal stromal precursors in a medium comprising a platelet derived growth factor receptor agonist to obtain renal stromal cells is provided as a technique for supplying renal stromal cells. This production method can further comprise a step (2) of inducing renal stromal precursors from neural crest cells, and a step (1) of culturing pluripotent stem cells in a medium comprising a GSK3β inhibitor, a TGFβ inhibitor, and retinoic acid and/or a derivative thereof to induce neural crest cells.

The invention discloses a method for screening a therapeutic target of acute radiation-induced gastrointestinal syndrome and use of TIGAR target in the preparation of a medicine for treating radiation-induced gastrointestinal syndrome. The CreERT-loxP transgenic mouse model is used, in which quiescent intestinal crypt stem cells are effectively promoted to proliferate after exposure to high-dose ionizing radiation, to screen a therapeutic target that still has a therapeutic effect for radiation-induced gastrointestinal syndrome 18-24 h after ionizing radiation. Gene splicing occurs in particular cells in the CreERT-loxP transgenic mice only after the injection of tamoxifen, thereby regulating gene expression. The actual situation of initial exposure and then treatment after a nuclear accident is well simulated, so the invention is of great practical significance. The screened therapeutic target is developed into a medicine for treatment after nuclear accidents, to save precious time for the treatment after nuclear accidents.

This disclosure relates to genetically engineered retinal organoids that can be used to test therapeutic treatments.

Provided are new strategies, methods and systems, described herein as vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP)-assisted air-liquid-interface (ALI) culture, to significantly increase the number of enteroendocrine (EEC) and enterochromaffin (EC) cells over the traditional submerged culture, while at the same time maintaining a high barrier integrity of monolayers. The new strategies, methods and systems overcome the limitations of the existing EEC enrichment methods by maintaining high cell viability and barrier integrity and without requiring complicated procedures of cocultures or genetic engineering/induction. The created EEC-enriched, contiguous monolayer platform acts as a robust analytical tool to enable functional studies of hormone secretion from EEC cells with high signal background ratio and repeatability.

Provided herein are methods for culturing patient-derived tumor cell spheroids in a three-dimensional microfluidic device. The method comprises mincing primary tumor sample in a medium supplemented with serum; treating the minced primary tumor sample with a composition comprising an enzyme; collecting tumor spheroids having a diameter of 10 μm to 500 μm from the enzyme treated sample; suspending the tumor spheroids in biocompatible gel; and culturing the tumor spheroids in a three dimensional microfluidic device. Methods for identifying an agent for treating cancer and microfluidic devices that allow for the simultaneous exposure of the cultured patient-derived primary tumor cell spheroids to a treatment of choice and to control treatment are also provided.

Provided herein are tissues containing semiconductor nanomaterials and methods of preparing and using the same.

A method for producing nerve cells includes introducing NGN1 as a differentiation factor into stem cells. A method for producing nerve cells includes introducing only NeuroD4 as a differentiation factor into stem cells. A method for producing motor neurons includes introducing NGN2, ISL2, and LHX4 as differentiation factors into stem cells. A method for producing motor neurons includes introducing NGN1, ISL2, and LHX4 as differentiation factors into stem cells. A method for producing motor neurons includes introducing NeuroD4, ISL2, and LHX4 as differentiation factors into stem cells. A method for screening neurological disease therapeutic drugs includes introducing a differentiation factor into pluripotent stem cells derived from neurological disease patients and differentiating the cells into neural cells, applying a candidate drug to cells during differentiation of the pluripotent stem cells into the neural cells or to the differentiated neural cells, and screening the candidate drug on the basis of on the neural cells.

The invention features pancreatic islet and pancreatic organoids, and cell cultures and methods that are useful for the rapid and reliable generation of pancreatic islet and pancreatic islet organoids. The invention also features methods of treating pancreatic diseases and methods of identifying agents that are useful for treatment of pancreatic diseases, such as type 2 diabetes and pancreatic cancer, using the pancreatic islet and pancreatic organoids of the invention.

Disclosed is a nanofiber-based long-term primary hepatocyte culture system and a culture method, wherein the primary hepatocyte culture system has an advantage that it can culture cells in three-dimensions in vitro to maintain the original physiological activity of low proliferative primary hepatocytes for a long time by co-culturing indirectly by separating primary hepatocytes and hepatic non-parenchymal cells with a support consisting of nanofibers therebetween without direct co-culture.