Disclosed are compositions and related methods of recapitulating bone marrow stroma using scaffold materials (e.g., a porous alginate hydrogel scaffold) containing one or more cellular differentiation factors, and one or more growth factors. Such methods and compositions promote the formation of an ectopic nodule or site that can improve transplanted cell engraftment and selectively drive the development of lymphocytes and the reconstitution of the adaptive immunity after hematopoietic stem cell transplant.

The present invention discloses an extracellular matrix comprising a modified polysaccharide consisting of repeating disaccharide units whereby in at least 11% of the disaccharide units one primary alcohol group is oxidized into a carboxylic acid.

Provided are methods of controlling disassociation of cells from a carrier, compositions, and methods of collecting cells. The methods of controlling disassociation of cells from a carrier may include contacting a polymeric carrier with one or more digesting agents to disassociate at least a portion of a plurality of cells from the polymeric carrier. The polymeric carrier may be crosslinked with a crosslinker including at least one of a redox sensitive moiety, a UV light sensitive moiety, a pH sensitive moiety, and a temperature sensitive moiety.

The present disclosure discloses methods for culturing stem cells in three-dimensional methods. Said method is either a spheroid-based method or a microcarrier-based method. The process as described herein leads to the expansion of the stem cells to obtain an expanded population of the stem cells, and a stem cell derived-conditioned medium. The present disclosure also discloses an expanded population of the stem cells, and a stem cell derived-conditioned medium obtained from the process as described herein. Further, an exosome preparation obtained from the stem cell derived-conditioned medium is also disclosed herein. The present disclosure also discloses a composition comprising an expanded population of the stem cells, or a stem cell derived-conditioned medium, or an exosome preparation, or combinations thereof. Methods of treatment using the composition as described herein is also disclosed in the present disclosure.

A method is disclosed for coating and patterning hydrogels in order to modify surface properties. The method exploits the water content of the hydrogel and the hydrophobicity of the reaction solvent to create a thin oxide adhesion layer on the hydrogel surface. This oxide adhesion layer enables rapid transformation of the hydrophilic, cell non-adhesive hydrogel into either a highly hydrophobic or a cell-adhesive hydrogel by reaction with an alkylphosphonic acid or an α,ω-diphosphonoalkane, respectively. Also disclosed are coated, patterned hydrogels and constructs comprising the coated, patterned hydrogels.

The invention relates to a cellular microcompartment comprising successively, organized around a lumen, at least one layer of pluripotent cells, an extracellular matrix layer and an outer hydrogel layer. The invention also relates to processes for preparing such cellular microcompartments.

Provided are fast relaxing hydrogels that are useful for regulating cell behavior and enhancing tissue regeneration, e.g., bone regeneration.

Disclosed herein are methods of making a mold for use with cells, such as engineered tissue. The method includes printing a 3D printed resin mold, casting a hydrogel over the 3D printed resin mold to create a crosslinked hydrogel negative mold, and casting a silicone rubber elastomer over the hydrogel negative mold to create a master mold.

Proposed is a method of producing extracellular vesicles by using a cellular spheroid prepared by: preparing a first composition comprising cells and a heat-sensitive hydrogel dissolved in an ionic solution; dispensing the first composition drop by drop into a second hydrogel; forming core-shell structures by causing a reaction between the second hydrogel and the ionic solution along an outer surface of a droplet of the first composition injected into the second hydrogel to form a cross-linked hydrogel shell; changing a temperature so that the heat-sensitive hydrogel in the cross-linked hydrogel shell undergoes a phase change from a gel phase to a liquid phase; and forming a cellar spheroid by allowing the inside of the cross-linked hydrogel shell to be changed into the liquid phase and allowing the cells to precipitate and aggregate. Furthermore, the extracellular vesicles can be produced by using the cellular spheroids prepared thereby.

The invention relates to cellular microcompartments, each microcompartment successively comprising the following layers, which are organised around at least one lumen: —at least one inner layer of human cells undergoing cardiac differentiation, expressing at least one gene chosen from PDGFRα, MESP-1, NKX2-5, GATA4, MEF2C, TBX20, ISL1 and TBX5, —at least one intermediate layer of isotonic aqueous solution, and—at least one outer hydrogel layer. The invention also relates to the cardiac tissues obtained from said microcompartments and the use thereof, particularly in the treatment of heart disease.