Disclosed are methods for conditionally immortalizing stem cells, including adult and embryonic stem cells, the cells produced by such methods, therapeutic and laboratory or research methods of using such cells, and methods to identify compounds related to cell differentiation and development or to treat diseases, using such cells. A mouse model of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and cells and methods related to such mouse model are also described.

According to the present invention, there are provided a method for producing a human T cell, which comprises the steps of inducing an iPS cell from a human T cell, and differentiating the iPS cell into a T cell; a pharmaceutical composition comprising the T cell produced by the method; and a method for cell-based immunotherapy using the method.

The present disclosure relates to the production of red blood cells from hematopoietic stem cells, by differentiating such cells in the presence of a protein that induces cell survival and proliferation.

A method of generating protein-induced pluripotent stem cells by delivering bacterially expressed reprogramming proteins into nuclei of starting somatic cells using the QQ-protein transduction technique, repeating several cell reprogramming cycles for creating reprogrammed protein-induced pluripotent stem cells, moving the reprogrammed cells into a feeder-free medium for expansion, and expanding and passaging the reprogrammed cells in a whole dish for generating homogeneous piPS cells. Also provided are the piPCS cells formed using this method and uses thereof.

Described herein are methods relating to the differentiation of stem cells to more differentiated phenotypes, e.g. to terminally differentiated cell types and/or precursors thereof. In some embodiments, the methods relate to contacting the stem cells with differentiation factors and halting the cell cycle, thereby increasing the rate of differentiation.

The present invention embraces a RNA replicon that can be replicated by a replicase of alphavirus origin and comprises an open reading frame encoding a reprogramming factor. Such RNA replicons are useful for expressing a reprogramming factor in a cell, in particular a somatic cell. Cells engineered to express such reprogramming factors are useful in cell transplantation therapies.

Disclosed are methods for conditionally immortalizing stem cells, including adult and embryonic stem cells, the cells produced by such methods, therapeutic and laboratory or research methods of using such cells, and methods to identify compounds related to cell differentiation and development or to treat diseases, using such cells. A mouse model of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and cells and methods related to such mouse model are also described.

The nuclear reprogramming of somatic cells with mRNA encoding reprogramming factors is shown to be greatly accelerated by activation of innate immune responses in the somatic cell. Methods of activating innate immunity include activation of PKR, of toll-like receptors, e.g. TLR3, etc. In some embodiments the mRNA provides the activator of innate immunity.

Embodiments herein include methods for enhancing post-ischemic functional recovery through administration of mitochondria and related devices and methods. In an embodiment, a method for enhancing post-ischemic functional recovery is included. The method can include harvesting somatic cells from a patient or a donor, converting the somatic cells into induced pluripotent stem cells, extracting mitochondria from the induced pluripotent stem cells, and transplanting the mitochondria into the patient. Other embodiments are also included herein.

To produce and/or maintain nave pluripotent stem cells capable of highly expressing genes important for maintaining an undifferentiated state, which could not be achieved by known methods for producing pluripotent stem cells. The present invention can produce nave pluripotent stem cells capable of maintaining an undifferentiated state by introducing and allowing transient expression of six genes (Oct3/4, Klf4, c-Myc, Sox2, Nanog, and Klf2) among the so-called initializing factors, and further performing culturing in a medium containing LIF, an MEK inhibitor, a GSK3 inhibitor, a cAMP production promoter, a TGF- inhibitor and a PKC inhibitor. Thus, the problem of the present invention can be solved.