The invention relates to truncated growth factors and variants thereof. The invention also relates to methods of making and using the truncated growth factors.

Disclosed herein are methods for generating satellite cells and compositions including satellite cells.

Disclosed herein are methods for generating satellite cells and compositions including satellite cells.

The present invention provides an anti-IGF-I receptor antibody that binds specifically to an IGF-I receptor of a vertebrate and has the proliferation-inducing activity of a vertebrate-derived cell, or a fragment thereof, or derivatives of these.

The invention relates to a method for inducing pluripotent stem cells, wherein a mammalian cell is contacted with a compound characterized by a general formula 1 wherein R.sup.1 is (CH.sub.2).sub.mE, with E being CCH or CN and m being 0, 1, or 2, and R.sup.2 is selected from F, CI, Br, OR.sup.3 and R.sup.3, with R.sup.3 being selected from H, (CH.sub.yF.sub.2-y).sub.n CH.sub.XF.sub.3-X, with n=0 or 1. The invention further relates to stem cells obtained by the method of the invention, and culture media comprising the compound of the invention.

The invention relates to truncated growth factors and variants thereof. The invention also relates to methods of making and using the truncated growth factors.

In related-art methods of differentiating pluripotent stem cells into a desired cell type, there has not been established a differentiation induction method using human ES/iPS cells and being stable and highly efficient. The use of complicated culture steps is a large problem. In addition, there are also large problems in, for example, that the speed of cell differentiation is low, and hence long-period culture is required, and that the differentiation efficiency is low, and hence it is difficult to obtain a sufficient number of required cells. A method of inducing differentiation into a desired cell type, which induces differentiation within a short period of time and with high efficiency by the use of a Sendai virus vector capable of expressing a transcription factor, and as required, the use of a pluripotent stem cell in which an expression amount of a POU5F1 protein has been substantially removed or reduced, is provided.

The present invention relates to methods for obtaining induced smooth muscle cells (iSMCs), iSMCs, iSMCs for use in a method of treating a disease or disorder or for use in tissue engineering, and the use of skeletal muscle derived cells for obtaining iSMCs.

The present invention provides an anti-IGF-I receptor antibody that binds specifically to an IGF-I receptor of a vertebrate and has the proliferation-inducing activity of a vertebrate-derived cell, or a fragment thereof, or derivatives of these.

The invention relates to truncated growth factors and variants thereof. The invention also relates to methods of making and using the truncated growth factors. The invention further relates to compositions including a protease and a growth factor comprising a bone morphogenic protein (BMP) or a variant thereof. The invention also relates to methods of using the composition.