Methods are provided for the production of photoreceptor cells and photoreceptor progenitor cells from pluripotent stem cells. Additionally provided are compositions of photoreceptor cells and photoreceptor cells, as well as methods for the therapeutic use thereof. Exemplary methods may produce substantially pure cultures of photoreceptor cells and/or photoreceptor cells.

To provide a method for serum-free culture of human cartilage cells and a serum-free culture medium. A method for serum-free culture of cartilage cells, said method comprising: an enzymatic treatment step for treating a human cartilage cell-containing tissue with a protease; an inhibitor-treatment step for, after the enzymatic treatment step, treating the tissue with an inhibitor for the aforesaid protease; and a culture step for, after the inhibitor-treatment step, culturing the tissue in a serum-free culture medium that contains kartogenin and/or SAG, ITS, FGF2 and hydrocortisone. A serum-free culture medium for culturing cartilage cells, said serum-free culture medium containing kartogenin and/or SAG, ITS, FGF2 and hydrocortisone.

Methods of treating osteoarthritis using protocatechuic acid (PCA) injected into an osteoarthritis joint are provided.

The present invention relates to inter alia, methods for the generation and maintenance of Mesoderm-derived ISL1+ Multipotent Progenitors (IMPs), the production of a number of pluripotent cells including and epicardial pluripotent cells (EPCs) and using these cells to produce endothelial cells, cardiomyocytes, smooth muscle cells, vascular cells and other cells and related methods as otherwise disclosed herein. The invention also relates to compositions comprising a population of cells.

Methods and composition for the production of cardiomyocytes from differentiation of pluripotent stem cells are provided. For example, in certain aspects methods including differentiating pluripotent stem cells in a large volume of suspension culture in the presence of ROCK inhibitors are described. In further aspects, methods for differentiation of stem cells into cardiomyocytes that overcome variability between different stem cell clones and different batch of culture medium are provided.

The present invention relates to a serum-free conditioned medium that solves the drawbacks mentioned in the prior art, as it does not require prior handling of the cells, and it furthermore allows starting from a large population with no additional cost. This medium favors in vitro proliferation and conservation of the pluripotency potential that allows maintaining a state that is undifferentiated with respect to the subpopulation of cancer stem cells (CSCs) and in turn does not allow survival of the differentiated cells.

The invention provides a defined low protein culture medium for maintaining cells in an undifferentiated state, the medium comprising: a basal medium, an organic acid from the tricarboxylic acid cycle, nonessential amino acids, a combination of growth factors selected from the group consisting of FGF-2 protein, an IGF-1 protein or insulin, a Transferrin protein, and a TGF beta 1 protein, wherein the medium is essentially feeder-free, essentially xeno-free, essentially free of beta-mercaptoethanol, and essentially free of animal-derived or human-derived proteins.

Disclosed herein include methods and compositions for in vitro culture of three-dimensional expanded pluripotency (EP) structures from pluripotent stem cells. In some embodiments, the method can include generating expanded pluripotent stem cells (EPSCs) and culturing the EPSCs in a composition capable of supporting generation of the EP structure.

Methods of producing stem cell conditioned media to treat mammalian injuries or insults. In at least one embodiment of a method for isolating non-endothelial adipocyte-depleted stromal cells of the present disclosure, the method comprises, comprising dissociating subcutaneous adipose tissue isolated from a mammal into a cell suspension, removing adipocytes from said cell suspension, resulting in a non-endothelial adipocyte-depleted cell suspension, and culturing the non-endothelial adipocyte-depleted cell suspension in a media containing growth factors VEGF, bFGF, EGF, and IGF, such that a mixed population of cells comprising a first population of further differentiated non-endothelial adipocyte-depleted CD34+/VE-cadherin− cells and a second population of further differentiated non-endothelial adipocyte-depleted CD34+/VE-cadherin+ cells are obtained and expanded.

The invention provides a method of producing a synthetic retina, comprising: i) providing a three dimensional stem cell culture throughout the differentiation time course, ii) differentiating the three dimensional stem cell culture for a first time period in a first neural cell culture medium comprising: a) L-glutamine; b) B27 supplement; and c) an IGF-1 receptor agonist, iii) subsequently differentiating the three dimensional stem cell culture for a second time period in a second neural cell culture medium comprising: a) L-glutamine; b) B27 supplement; c) N2 supplement; and d) an IGF-1 receptor agonist, wherein said synthetic retina contains laminated retinal tissue comprising.