A method for culturing cells by which the diameter of cell aggregates can be controlled, and by which a large amount of cells can be obtained, a cell aggregate obtained by the method, a cell aggregation control agent, and a medium containing the cell aggregation control agent, are provided. A method for culturing cells by suspension culture, which method includes an aggregation control step of adding a substance that inhibits a cell adhesion molecule(s) of the cells to a medium to control cell aggregation of the cells, and the like are provided.

The present invention relates to the field of immunology, molecular biology and therapeutics. In particular, the invention relates to novel artificial feeder cells for activation and expansion of natural killer (NK) cells. The artificial feeder cell expresses endogenous ligands (HLA C1, C2, 5 and Bw4 type) for killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIRs), non-KIR binding Bw6 ligand, endogenous HLA-E-ligand for inhibitory NKG2A receptor, and comprises at least one stimulatory cytokine either membrane bound or secreted or at least one co-stimulatory ligand where those ligands and cytokines each specifically bind to a cognate receptor on a NK cell of interest, thereby mediating expansion of the NK cell. The invention can be used as an “off the 10 shelf” artificial feeder cell that can be readily designed to expand a NK cell or a NK subset of interest and also specifically expand NK cells modified with a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR). By genetically introducing or knockdown of candidate genes, the artificial feeder cell of the invention can be used to identify the stimulatory, co-stimulatory, and any other factors that mediate growth, expansion and cytotoxicity of a NK cell. Thus, the present invention provides 15 powerful tools for development of novel therapeutics where activation and expansion of the NK cell and of the CAR-NK cell can provide a benefit.

The present invention relates to methods that are based on expression of integrin alpha10 and integrin alpha11 on chondrocytes, used for determining purity, quality, degree of chondrocytic identity, chondrocytic potency, and/or degree of chondrocytic phenotype of a composition comprising chondrocytes, as well as for isolating and enriching a population of high quality chondrocytes and controlling culturing and expanding of high quality chondrocytes. The present invention relates also to composition comprising chondrocytes.

Disclosed herein, are methods for identifying a drug candidate for treating cancer metastasis. The method comprising culturing an embedded organoid/natural killer (NK) cell co-culture with a drug candidate; and measuring one or more metastatic properties of the embedded organoid or tumor-killing potential or tumor-promoting potential of the NK cells in the co-culture.

The present invention relates to methods that are based on expression of integrin alpha10 and integrin alpha11 on chondrocytes, used for determining purity, quality, degree of chondrocytic identity, chondrocytic potency, and/or degree of chondrocytic phenotype of a composition comprising chondrocytes, as well as for isolating and enriching a population of high quality chondrocytes and controlling culturing and expanding of high quality chondrocytes. The present invention relates also to composition comprising chondrocytes.

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a cardiac cell culture material which specifically acts on cardiac cells. In addition, another purpose of the present invention is to provide artificial organ material obtained by culturing by using said cardiac cell culture material, and a method for producing the same. Thus, provided is a cardiac cell culture, wherein functional cardiac tissue is favorably built by using a cardiac cell culture material containing VCAM-1.

Aspects of the present disclosure relate to methods and compositions related to the preparation of immune cells, including engineered immune cells. Certain embodiments of the disclosure include compositions, cells, and methods related to engineered invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells for off-the-shelf use for clinical therapy. The iNKT cells may be produced from hematopoietic stem progenitor cells and may be suitable for allogeneic cellular therapy because they are HLA negative. In some aspects, the cells have imaging and suicide targeting capabilities.

Described is the efficient and robust generation and isolation of functional astrocytes from pluripotent stem cells (PSCs). The methodology provided recapitulate the major steps of oligodendrocyte differentiation into mixed cell populations and subsequent isolation of astrocytes from the mixed cell populations.

The present invention generally relates to a medium composition and method for culturing mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), in which the medium comprises an epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) peptide, particularly a truncated EpCAM polypeptide containing the extracellular domain (EpEX). It significantly enhances cell proliferation and multipotency of the MSCs.

Use of CD47 and/or C-X-C chemokine receptor type 4 (CXCR4) for increasing engraftment by haematopoietic stem C and/or progenitor cells (HSPCs).