A population of brain pericyte-like cells, wherein the cells express pericyte markers but do not express ACTA2 and wherein the cells are generated from hPSCs, is disclosed herein.

Provided are cortical interneurons and other neuronal cells and in vitro methods for producing such cortical interneurons and other neuronal cells by the directed differentiation of stem cells and neuronal progenitor cells. The present disclosure relates to novel methods of in vitro differentiation of stem cells and neural progenitor cells to produce several type neuronal cells and their precursor cells, including cortical interneurons, hypothalamic neurons and pre-optic cholinergic neurons. The present disclose describes the derivation of these cells via inhibiting SMAD and Wnt signaling pathways and activating SHH signaling pathway. The present disclosure relates to the novel discovery that the timing and duration of SHH activation can be harnessed to direct controlled differentiation of neural progenitor cells into either cortical interneurons, hypothalamic neurons or pre-optic cholinergic neurons. The present disclosure also relates to compositions of cortical interneurons, hypothalamic neurons or pre-optic cholinergic neurons, and their precursors, that are highly enriched and can be used in variety of application. These cells can be used therapeutically to treat neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric disorders, and can be used for disease modeling and drug screening.

Disclosed herein are compositions and methods of enhancing stem cell differentiation into beta cells with use of one or more epigenetic modification compounds. The present disclosure also relates to compositions and methods of sorting and enriching the differentiated beta cells. The present disclosure also relates to compositions and methods of irradiating cell population for reducing proliferation.

The present invention aims to provide a method of sorting a skeletal muscle progenitor cell from a cell population containing the skeletal muscle progenitor cell. The above-mentioned problem is solved by providing a step of introducing miRNA-responsive mRNA into a cell population. The miRNA-responsive mRNA contains (i) a nucleic acid having a sequence specifically recognized by miRNA specifically expressed in a skeletal muscle progenitor cell, and (ii) a nucleic acid containing a sequence encoding a marker protein.

The present invention relates to methods of producing axial stem cells (AxSCs) as well to axial stem cells (AxSCs) produced by such methods and uses thereof. The present invention further relates to axial stem cells (AxSCs), wherein said axial stem cells are not pluripotent cells, but are, for example, region-specific multipotent stem cells capable of indefinitely renewing themselves.

The present disclosure provides a brain organoid for culturing cancer cells for a prolonged period of time and methods for culturing cancer cells in a brain organoid for a period of time at least one week. The cancer cells may be primary cancer cells obtained from a cancer from a subject. The brain organoid may be generated from embryonic stem cells or induced pluripotent stem cells that are not transformed to render them oncogenic. In certain aspects, the cancer cells cultured in the brain organoid may be Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase Receptor Type Z1 (PTPRZ1) expressing cancer cells obtained from a cancer from a subject. Also provided are methods for inhibiting tumor invasion in a cancer of a nervous system by administering to a subject suffering from such cancer an inhibitor of the PTPRZ1 pathway and for screening for inhibitors of cancer cell growth and/or invasion.

A method of producing an organoid derived from a lung epithelial cell or a lung cancer cell, comprising culturing a sample including the lung epithelial cell or the lung cancer cell in a culture medium, wherein the culture medium contains 0-10% (v/v) extracellular matrix, and a combination of at least one selected from the group consisting of keratinocyte growth factor (KGF), fibroblast growth factor (FGF) 10, and hepatocyte growth factor (HGF); bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) inhibitor; and TGFβ inhibitor, and the culture medium is substantially free of feeder cells.

The production of high quality retinal pigmented epithelium (RPE) cells is necessary for research and potential therapeutic uses. Especially desirable are methods for the production of RPE cells using xeno-free culture conditions. Disclosed herein are novel methods for the production of RPE cells from pluripotent cells with high yields, including xeno-free production methods. Also provided are methods of efficiently isolating RPE cells from cultures containing heterogeneous cell types, allowing for substantially pure RPE cell cultures to be established. Additionally, novel methods for the cryopreservation of RPE cells are provided.

Methods for generating thymic epithelial progenitor (TEP) cells from pluripotent stem (PS) cells in vitro are provided. Compositions and systems of cell populations of TEP cells as well as cells formed during different stages of differentiation of PS cells into TEP cells are also disclosed. The methods, isolated in vitro cell populations, compositions, and systems disclosed provide functional TEP cells that mature into thymic epithelial cells in vivo.

A sphere-like cell aggregate according to one embodiment of the present invention comprises: a core part containing neural retina; and a covering part continuously or discontinuously covering at least a portion of a surface of the core part.