An agent for use in reducing T cell exhaustion and/or increasing T cell function, and/or boosting immunity, wherein the agent is selected from the group consisting of nicotinamide riboside, vitamin B12, a urolithin, manganese, serine, glycine, arginine, asparagine, and a combination of two or more thereof.

The present disclosure relates to compositions, nucleic acid constructs, methods and kits thereof for cell induction or reprogramming cells to the dendritic cell state or antigen presenting cell state, based, in part, on the surprisingly effect described herein of novel use and combinations of transcription factors that permit induction or reprogramming of differentiated or undifferentiated cells into dendritic cells or antigen presenting cells. Such compositions, nucleic acid constructs, methods and kits can be used for inducing dendritic cells in vitro, ex vivo, or in vivo, and these induced dendritic cells or antigen presenting cells can be used for immunotherapy applications.

Methods of culturing cells capable of producing desired proteins to obtain the proteins by use of a medium from which biological components are excluded as much as possible are provided. Specifically, a culture method characterized by culturing while maintaining a specific amino acid in a culture solution at a high concentration, and a cell culture fed-batch medium for use in the method are provided.

Provided is a new type serum-free medium. The medium comprises: DMEM with high glucose (the content of glucose being 4.5 g/L), B27, recombinant human basic fibrolast growth factor (b-FGF), nicotinamide, N-2, vinblastine III (conophylline), non-essential amino acid (NEAA), heparin, epidermal growth factor (EGF), hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), a serum replacement (SR), an insulin-transferrin-selenium complex (ITS), and pentagastrin. Inducing differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells into insulin-secretion-like cells can be achieved in six days in one step using the medium.

The invention relates to in vitro cell culture methods for expanding epithelial cells from head and neck tissue, including head and neck tumour tissue, to obtain organoids. The invention relates to culture media suitable for use with said methods, organoids obtainable or obtained by said methods and uses of said culture methods, media and organoids in drug discovery and validation, toxicity assays, diagnostics and therapy.

Disclosed herein are genetically modified T-cells and CAR-T cells that have an increased ability to process the essential amino acid arginine, for example, by overexpressing amino acid transporters, particularly arginine transporters. Such genetically modified T-cells and CAR-T cells can better survive the often hostile tumor microenvironment because of their increased ability to process arginine. The methods and compositions described here are used to augment the amount of arginine available to a T-cell. The methods and compositions described herein are also used to augment the amount of arginine available to a CAR-T-cell, thus providing a CAR-T cell that can be effective in the treatment of solid tumors by surviving the tumor microenvironment.

The specification describes an improved serum-free animal cell culture medium, which can used for the production of a protein of interest. Ornithine, or a combination of ornithine and putrescine can be added to serum-free media or chemically defined media to improve viable cell density, to reduce cell doubling time, and to increase the production of a protein of interest.

The present disclosure provides a cell system comprising eukaryotic cells in a hydrogel comprising nanofibrillar cellulose in cell storage medium at a temperature in the range of 0-25° C. The present disclosure also provides a method for storing eukaryotic cells, the method comprising providing eukaryotic cells, providing nanofibrillar cellulose, combining the cells and the nanofibrillar cellulose to form the cell system, and storing the cell system at a temperature in the range of 0-25° C.

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.

Methods and compositions for pre-conditioning, transduction and/or hypothermic preservation of vascular cells transduced with nucleic acid constructs for expressing pro-angiogenic factors are provided. Also provided are uses of such cells in therapy.