A process of simply, cheaply, and reproducibly creating complex tissue models using screen printing and the tissue model prepared using the screen printing process. These models are amenable to high throughput screening. They will allow the study of components of disease progression and can be used for screening therapies.

The present invention relates to methods of culturing adherent cells, in particular adherent stem cells, to confluency at a liquid-liquid interface. The invention also provides cell culture systems useful in the culture of cells at liquid-liquid interfaces. The cell culture systems generally comprise an aqueous cell culture medium and an oil phase, there being a conditioning layer disposed between the cell culture medium and the oil phase comprising a peptide or polymer layer and a surfactant that assists in the culture of the adherent cells (in particular stem cells) at the interface between the two phases.

The invention relates to a method of preparing pancreatic islet-like cell structures characterized by a unique combination of morphological and functional features which make them particularly suitable for use in both clinical and drug screening application, as well as to the pancreatic islet-like cell structures obtained therefrom.

A polypeptide copolymer, a preparation method thereof, a porous fibrous scaffold including the same, and a method for nerve regeneration or growth are disclosed. The polypeptide copolymer comprises: a glutamate unit; and a glutamic acid unit, wherein a ratio of a content of the glutamic acid unit to a content of the glutamate unit is in a range from 10:90 to 90:10.

The present invention relates to a method for producing cholinergic neurons comprising obtaining neural progenitor cells from stem cells so as to continuously produce cholinergic neural cells with high purity and the same traits, followed by differentiating the neural progenitor cells into the cholinergic neurons, and cholinergic neurons produced therefrom. Since the method of preparing the cholinergic neurons provided in the present invention enables not only production of the cholinergic neurons with high purity, but also rapid production of the cholinergic neurons with the same traits, it can be widely used for effectively treating degenerative cranial nerve diseases such as Alzheimer's disease.

The present invention relates to novel compositions and methods to produce 3D organ equivalents of the brain (i.e. mini-brains). The invention also relates to methods of using human induced pluripotent stem cells, a combination of growth and other soluble factors and gyratory shaking. Cells from healthy or diseased donors or animals can be used to allow testing different genetic backgrounds. The model can be further enhanced by using genetically modified cells, adding micro-glia or their precursors or indicator cells (e.g. with reporter genes or tracers) as well as adding endothelial cells to form a blood-brain-barrier.

The invention provides a microscaffold comprising a porous particle, which particle: (a) comprises a three dimensional network of fibres, which fibres comprise a polymer, and (b) has a particle size of less than or equal to 2000 m. Further provided is a composition, which composition comprises a microscaffold of the invention or a plurality of microscaffolds of the invention. The invention also provides a multi-well assay plate comprising: a plurality of sample wells, and a composition of the invention in at least one of the sample wells. The microscaffold, composition or multi-well plate may be used for regenerative medicine, tissue engineering, screening compounds for biological use or drug screening. The microscaffold may further comprise a magnetic material, and the invention additionally provides a method of manipulating one or more such microscaffolds. The method comprises exposing a composition that comprises one or more such microscaffolds to a magnetic field of a magnet, and thereby causing the one or more microscaffolds in the composition to be attracted to said magnet by magnetic attraction.

Provided is a system for modeling the conventional outflow tract, including: a porous scaffold with trabecular meshwork cells attached to one surface and microvascular endothelial cells co-cultured on an opposite surface transforming the microvascular endothelial cells into Schlemm's canal cell-like cells. Also provided is a method for using the system for screening by contacting the cells with a known or suspected medicament and measuring its effects on the system such as flow of a perfusate. Also provided is a method of making the system by fabricating the porous substrate as a micropatterned scaffold.

There is provided a method for efficient differentiation induction from human pluripotent stem cells into hypothalamic neurons. Also, provided is a method for constructing, from human pluripotent stem cells, a cellular structure in which hypothalamic tissue and pituitary tissue are integrated. A cellular structure including hypothalamic tissue is obtained by a method including the steps of: culturing an aggregate of human pluripotent stem cells in suspension in a medium containing a low concentration of a bone morphogenetic protein signal transduction pathway activating substance and a low concentration of a substance acting on the Shh signaling pathway; and further culturing the cell aggregate obtained in the step in suspension in a medium containing a low concentration of a substance acting on the Shh signaling pathway.

The invention relates to a method of preparing pancreatic islet-like cell structures characterized by a unique combination of morphological and functional features which make them particularly suitable for use in both clinical and drug screening application, as well as to the pancreatic islet-like cell structures obtained therefrom.