A method of manufacturing a multilayered cell sheet of neural crest stem cells (NCSCs), includes: (1) isolating and culturing NCSCs from peripheral nerves; (2) embedding the cultured NCSCs in a hydrogel; (3) culturing the hydrogel comprising the NCSCs embedded therein under stressed culture conditions in which a physical support is applied; and (4) culturing the resulting hydrogel of step (3) under non-stressed culture conditions in which a physical support is removed.

Methods are disclosed herein for increasing bone mass and strength or bone fracture healing in a subject. The methods include administering to the subject a therapeutically effective amount of multipotent stem cells, wherein each multipotent stem cell is transformed with a recombinant nucleic acid molecule comprising a heterologous promoter operably linked to a nucleic acid encoding platelet derived growth factor (PDGF) B, and wherein the multipotent stem cells express a sufficient amount of PDGFB to increase bone mass and strength or bone fracture healing. A lentiviral vector also is disclosed that includes a phosphoglycerate kinase-1 (PGK) promoter operably linked to a nucleic acid encoding PDGFB.

A somatic stem cell that is CD10+, CXCR4+, and CD31+ and another somatic stem cell that is CD105+, CD44+, and nestin+. Also disclosed are both a method of preparing these stem cells and a method of using them to treat degenerative diseases, e.g., a muscle-degenerative disease. The invention further includes making and using liver cells derived from the somatic cell that is CD105+, CD44+, and nestin+.

The invention relates to the discovery that the proliferation and survival of pancreatic progenitor cells can be enhanced by contacting the cells with, (1) a caspase inhibitor sufficient to reduce apoptosis in the pancreatic endocrine cells; and, (2) a growth factor in an amount sufficient to increase the level of activated Akt in the pancreatic endocrine cells.

Provided are pharmaceutical compositions that include a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier and isolated post-natal cardiac progenitor cells (CPCs) and/or progeny cells thereof that are SSEA3-positive and c-kit-negative. Also provided are methods for preparing cells capable of repairing damaged myocardium, methods for isolating populations of SSEA3-positive/c-kit-negative CPCs from cardiac tissue samples, methods for preparing an isolated cell population enriched in post-natal SSEA3-positive/c-kit-negative CPCs, therapeutic methods for using the presently disclosed cells and populations of cells to treat subjects in need thereof, and cell cultures that contain the presently disclosed cells and populations of cells.

Provided herein are methods of producing erythrocytes from hematopoietic cells, particularly hematopoietic cells from placental perfusate in combination with hematopoietic cells from umbilical cord blood, wherein the method results in accelerated expansion and differentiation of the hematopoietic cells to more efficiently produce administrable erythrocytes. Further provided herein is a bioreactor in which hematopoietic cell expansion and differentiation takes place.

The present disclosure relates to a serum-free medium for culturing of DS cells containing platelet derived growth factor (PDGF), or to a method for culturing of dermal sheath (DS) cells, using serum-free medium comprising PDGF.

In order to provide (i) a repair agent for damaged tissue and (ii) a method for producing the repair agent, the present invention uses mesenchymal stem cells cultured in a serum-free medium.

The disclosure provided herein relates generally to mesenchymal-like stem cells “hES-T-MiSC” or “T-MSC” and the method of producing the stem cells. The method comprises culturing embryonic stem cells under conditions that the embryonic stem cells develop through an intermediate differentiation of trophoblasts, and culturing the differentiated trophoblasts to hES-T-MSC or T-MSC, T-MSC derived cells and cell lineages “T-MSC-DL” are also described. Disclosed also herein are solutions and pharmaceutical compositions comprising the T-MSC and/or T-MSC-DL, methods of making the T-MSC and T-MSC-DL, and methods of using the T-MSC and T-MSC-DL for treatment and prevention of diseases, specifically, T-MSC and T-MSC-DL are used as immunosuppressive agents to treat multiple sclerosis and autoimmune diseases.

The present invention relates to methods for making in vitro retinal cultures, tissue, or retinal organoids, from pluripotent cells as well as the improved synthetic retinal tissue and retinal organoids themselves. It also relates to retinal organoids that replicate in vitro many characteristics of the retina (e.g., human or mammalian), and methods of using this retinal organoid to study disease and to identify therapeutic agents for the treatment of retinal diseases and disorders.