Animal cells, notably adult fibroblasts, are advantageously reprogrammed in direct lineage reprogramming methods using defined factors to produce proliferative and multipotent induced cardiac progenitor cells (iCPC). The iCPC thus produced can be differentiated under suitable differentiation conditions to cardiac lineage cells including cardiomyocytes, smooth muscle cells, and endothelial cells, as evidenced by expression of lineage specific markers. Sets of factors effective in combination to reprogram the fibroblasts can include a set that includes some or all of 5 factors (Mesp1, Baf60c, Nkx2.5, Gata4, Tbx5), a set that includes some or all of 11 factors (Mesp1, Mesp2, Gata4, Gata6, Baf60c, SRF, Isl1, Nkx2.5, Irx4, Tbx5, Tbx20), a set that includes some or all of 18 factors (T, Mesp1, Mesp2, Tbx5, Tbx20, Isl1, Gata4, Gata6, Irx4, Nkx2.5, Hand1, Hand2, Tbx20, Tbx18, Tip60, Baf60c, SRF, Hey2), and a set that includes some or all of 22 factors (T, Mesp1, Mesp2, Tbx5, Tbx20, Isl1, Gata4, Gata6, Irx4, Nkx2.5, Hand1, Hand2, Tbx20, Tbx18, Tip60, Baf60c, SRF, Hey2, Oct4, Klf4, Sox2, L-myc).

Described herein are methods of generating induced muscle progenitor cells (iMPCs) and uses thereof. Embodiments further provide for methods of promoting muscle regeneration and/or repair and methods of treating a muscle disease or disorder.

The present invention relates to methods for generating Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells from fibroblast cells. The invention also relates to appropriate culture media used by the method disclosed; pluripotent stem cells, cultures of the pluripotent stem cells, differentiated cells derived from the culture pluripotent stem cells isolated by the methods disclosed and uses for those cells, e.g. therapeutic uses, such as autologous cell therapy procedures.

Provided is a method of inducing oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs) through direct reprogramming from human somatic cells into which a nucleic acid molecule encoding an Oct4 protein or Oct4 protein-treated human somatic cells. The method of inducing OPCs by treating Oct4-overexpressing human somatic cells with a low molecular weight substance may establish OPCs with high efficiency in a short period of time through direct reprogramming without via neural stem cells, and thus the OPCs are useful as a cell therapeutic agent for an intractable demyelinating disease.

Methods for using gene expression changes and mutations in neural organoids to identify neural networks that predict the onset of Alzheimer's disease and associated comorbidities are disclosed.

A method for inducing reprogramming of a cell of a first type which is not a non-hepatocyte (non-hepatocyte cell), into a cell with functional hepatic drug metabolizing and transporting capabilities, is disclosed. The non-hepatocyte is induced to express or overexpress hepatic fate conversion and maturation factors, cultured in somatic cell culture medium, hepatocyte cell culture medium and hepatocyte maturation medium for a sufficient period of time to convert the non-hepatocyte cell into a cell with hepatocyte-like properties. The iHeps induced according to the methods disclosed herein are functional induced hepatocytes (iHeps) in that they express I and II drug-metabolizing enzymes and phase III drug transporters and show superior drug metabolizing activity compared to iHeps obtained by prior art methods. The iHeps thus provide a cell resource for pharmaceutical applications.

The present invention aims to provide a method for preparing an RPE cell, and an RPE cell prepared by the method, and a reagent for producing an RPE cell which is suitable for the method. The method of the present invention includes the following step: a step of introducing, as exogeneous factors, MITF (Microphthalmia-Associated Transcription Factor) gene or an expression product thereof, OTX2 (Orthodenticle homeobox 2) gene or an expression product thereof, LIN28 gene or an expression product thereof, and L-MYC gene or an expression product thereof into a mammalian somatic cell.

The present invention is primarily directed to provide a new composition for a medium which can be used for differentiation induction from somatic cells to brown adipocytes.

The present invention can include, for example, a composition for a medium used in differentiation induction from somatic cells to brown adipocytes, wherein the composition comprises the following seven components: a thyroid hormone receptor agonist, a glucocorticoid receptor agonist, a phosphodiesterase inhibitor, insulin, an ascorbic acid derivative, albumin, and an antibiotic.

According to the present invention, direct differentiation induction from somatic cells to brown adipocytes can be effectively performed. In addition, according to the present invention, it is possible to effectively maintain brown adipocytes.

The present disclosure provides a method for inducing transdifferentiation of somatic cells into mammary epithelial cells in vitro using a small molecule compound. The method includes: inhibiting an expression of TGFbeta R1 and related sites thereof, to induce the transdifferentiation of the somatic cells into the mammary epithelial cells in vitro. The present disclosure fills a gap in the technology of inducing the transdifferentiation of fibroblasts to the mammary epithelial cells using the small molecule compound; the present disclosure also provides a research platform for in vitro researches on a mammary gland bioreactor, mammary gland development and differentiation, breast cancer, and transdifferentiation of the fibroblasts into other types of functional cells.

The present invention provides a method for preparing induced pluripotent stem cells through somatic cell reprogramming and induced pluripotent stem cells obtained therefrom. The present method comprises introducing the factors Oct4 and Nanog as reprogramming-inducing factors into somatic cells to perform reprogramming; followed by culturing the partially or fully reprogrammed somatic cells in a medium comprising specific chemical inducing agents to obtain induced pluripotent stem cells. In the present invention, the combination of different forms of reprogramming-inducing factors and three small-molecule compounds as chemical inducing agents can significantly improve the reprogramming efficiency of human somatic cells and reduce the tumorigenicity of the obtained induced pluripotent stem cells.