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.

The invention provides methods of preparing a sample of viable diseased cells obtained from a human subject for clinical testing, wherein the methods inhibit anoikis and/or anoikis in the cells while maintaining the physiological functions and genomic composition of the cells when they were in vivo. In the methods of the invention, primary cells are cultured in media comprising at least one anoikis inhibitor, preferably at least one inhibitor of an intrinsic anoikis pathway and at least one inhibitor of an extrinsic anoikis pathway, under anti-anoikis atmospheric conditions, such as greater than 2% and less than 20% oxygen. Method combining multiple culturing conditions, including surface attachment under conditions that inhibit anoikis, are also provided. Compositions and kits for use in the methods of the invention are also provided.

Compositions, devices and methods are described for improving adhesion, attachment, and/or differentiation of cells in a microfluidic device or chip. In one embodiment, one or more ECM proteins are covalently coupled to the surface of a microchannel of a microfluidic device. The microfluidic devices can be stored or used immediately for culture and/or support of living cells such as mammalian cells, and/or for simulating a function of a tissue, e.g., a liver tissue, muscle tissue, etc. Extended adhesion and viability with sustained function over time is observed.

The present disclosure provides a method of fabricating curvature-defined (C-D) or shape-defined (S-D) concave and convex polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) surfaces and a method of fabricating C-D or S-D convex and concave gel surfaces for use in cell and tissue culturing and in other surface and interface applications, and provides a method of using C-D or S-D convex and concave surfaces with varying curvatures to direct cell attachment, spreading, and migration.

Multiple component grafts are provided for treatment of tissue defects and comprise two or more components, each of which is a tissue-derived matrix and at least two of which are derived from different types of tissue. For example, a first component may be a matrix derived from cartilage tissue such as cartilage fibers with or without viable cells, cartilage particles with or without viable cells, or combinations of any two or more such cartilage-derived matrices. A second component may be a matrix derived from bone tissue such as mineralized or demineralized cortical bone fibers, viable cancellous bone matrix (e.g., cryopreserved or lyophilized chips, particulates, powder, sheets, putty, flowable fluid, etc.), demineralized or demineralized cancellous bone matrix (chips, particulates, powder, sheets, putty, flowable fluid, etc.), or combinations of any two or more of such bone-derived matrices. Also provided are methods for making and using such multiple component grafts.

Disclosed herein are methods of inducing endothelial cell reorganization or differentiation to form micro- and macrovessel structures using an extracellular matrix, such as one derived from small mobile stem (SMS) cells, and a substrate, which can also be coated in molecules or otherwise physically manipulated to cause localized effects on reorganization Also disclosed is a kit implementation for performing endothelial cell reorganization.

Provided is a method for efficiently manufacturing high-purity peripheral nerve cells from undifferentiated cells. The method for manufacturing peripheral nerve cells from undifferentiated cells having an ability to differentiate into peripheral nerve cells includes the following steps (a) and (b): (a) culturing undifferentiated cells having an ability to differentiate into peripheral nerve cells to induce differentiation into neural progenitor cells without detaching a grown colony from a culture vessel; and (b) detaching the neural progenitor cells produced in the step (a) from the culture vessel, then seeding the cells at a seeding density of 2×10.sup.5 to 6×10.sup.5 cells/cm.sup.2 to a culture vessel, and culturing the cells for 14 to 42 days.

A new type of biomaterial that can be generated from pollen, methods for its production, the various uses thereof in, for example, biological, medicinal, cosmetic, nutritional and printing applications and the materials/devices that comprise this new material are provided. The biomaterial comprises microgels of sporoderm polymer complex microcapsules (SPC-MCs), produced by deproteinizing the pollen from eudicot plants, in particular of genus Baccharis, Helianthus or Camellia, by contacting it with an aqueous base solution at elevated temperatures for up to 10 hours to obtain porous SPC-MCs, and hydrolytically degrading the SPC-MCs by contacting it with an aqueous base solution for periods up to 60 days to obtain microgels of SPC-MCs.

The present invention relates to a method for in-vitro production of mammalian neurons expressing the 6 isoforms of the Tau protein (2N4R, 1N4R, 0N4R, 2N3R, 1N3R, 0N3R), comprising a step of neuronal differentiation, in which cellular microcompartments are cultivated for a period of 5 weeks to 100 weeks, each one comprising a hollow hydro gel capsule surrounding post-mitotic neuronal cells and an extracellular matrix, the neuronal differentiation step being carried out in a bioreactor, the cellular microcompartments being kept in suspension in an enclosure of the bioreactor containing a neuronal differentiation medium.

Presented herein are compositions and methods for generating stem cell derived retinal tissue and isolated retinal progenitor cells for use in the treatment of retinal degenerative diseases and disorders.