The present invention relates to substantially planar vascularized brain cancer organoid and methods of using such vascularized brain cancer organoids in anti-cancer drug discovery screen. In particular, provided herein are methods of producing and using complex, highly uniform vascularized brain cancer organoids that comprise physiologically relevant human cells and have the high degree of sample uniformity and reproducibility required for use in high-throughput screening applications.

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 is a polypeptide containing an extracellular domain of a synaptogenic protein, and a method for manufacturing a nerve cell, a complex containing a biotin tagged at the C-terminus of the polypeptide, an artificial synapse inducer for coupling the composite to a streptavidin (SAV)-coated substrate and a nerve cell. The complex tagged with a biotin at the C-terminus of the polypeptide containing the extracellular domain of the synaptogenic protein, such as neuroligin-1, can display activity by being attached to the SAV-coated substrate to adjust the orientation thereof without help of a supported lipid bilayer. The complex containing an additional RFP between the extracellular domain and the biotin of the synaptogenic protein not only facilitates easier mass-production, quantification, and tracking, but also displays activity of a normal synaptogenic protein, thereby inducing excitatory or inhibitory synaptic differentiation by being fixed to the substrate and added to the nerve cell culture.

This application discloses alginate microencapsulation-mediated differentiation of embryonic stem cells and use of the stem cell differentiation method for the development of effective treatment of various diseases and disorders. The microencapsulation of embryonic stem (ES) cells results in decreased cell aggregation and enhanced neural lineage differentiation through incorporating the soluble inducer retinoic acid (RA) into the permeable microcapsule system. This differentiation process can be augmented by differentiation pathway regulators such as PPAR agonists.

The present invention concerns enriched heterogeneous mammalian renal cell populations characterized by biomarkers, and methods of making and using the same.

The present invention relates to a method for isolating bona fide pancreatic progenitor cells and to cell populations enriched for bona fide pancreatic progenitor cells.

Methods of culturing T cells are provided. Accordingly there is provided a method of culturing T cells comprising culturing T cells in the presence of a T cell stimulator, an exogenous CCL21 and an exogenous ICAM1, thereby culturing the T cells. Also provided are cell cultures, isolated T cells and uses of same.

Provided herein are a composition and method for inducing differentiation into myeloid-derived suppressor cells from myeloid cells using glycyrrhizin, and an immunosuppressive composition including the composition or myeloid-derived suppressor cells induced by the method.

Provided herein are also a composition and method for inducing differentiation into CD11b+Gr1 myeloid cells using glycyrrhizin, and a composition for proliferating myeloid cells which includes glycyrrhizin.

Thus, glycyrrhizin of the present disclosure has an effect of inducing differentiation into CD11b+Gr1 myeloid cells or myeloid-derived suppressor cells from myeloid cells in vivo and in vitro, and thus is effective as a composition for inducing differentiation into CD11b+Gr1 myeloid cells or myeloid-derived suppressor cells, which includes the glycyrrhizin.

In addition, when myeloid cells are treated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) before being treated with the glycyrrhizin of the present disclosure in vitro, the effect of inducing differentiation into CD11b+Gr1 myeloid cells or myeloid-derived suppressor cells from myeloid cells is further enhanced.

The present invention relates to the identification of photoreceptors or cone photoreceptors in populations of cells. In particular the present invention relates to methods of identification of photoreceptors or cone photoreceptors and methods of isolating photoreceptors or cone photoreceptors. Photoreceptors or cone photoreceptors isolated by the methods of the present invention are useful for transplantation and the treatment of retinal dystrophies. Also claimed are human cell populations enriched for photoreceptors or cone photoreceptors and kits for identifying photoreceptors or cone photoreceptors.

A method of qualifying whether a cell population is a suitable therapeutic is disclosed. The method comprises: (a) incubating a population of undifferentiated mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in a differentiating medium comprising basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), platelet derived growth factor (PDGF), heregulin and cAMP for at least two days to obtain a population of differentiated MSCs; and (b) analyzing the expression of CD49 a in the differentiated MSC population, wherein an amount of CD49 a above a predetermined level indicative of the cell population being suitable as a therapeutic.