A composition having cell-derived physiological activity is provided. The composition according to the present invention contains a treated product of megakaryocytes or a culture of the megakaryocytes.

Disclosed herein are methods and compositions for inactivating mutant genes associated with LCA, using engineered nucleases comprising a DNA binding domain and a cleavage domain or cleavage half-domain in conditions promoting the cleavage of the mutant genes. Polynucleotides encoding nucleases, vectors comprising polynucleotides encoding nucleases, and cells comprising polynucleotides encoding nucleases and/or cells comprising nucleases are also provided.

The present disclosure relates to methods for increasing telomere length in one or more human cells and/or increasing genome stability of one or more human cells, for example by contacting one or more human cells with an agent that increases expression of Zscan4 in the one or more human cells. Methods of treating a subject in need of telomere lengthening, treating a disease or condition associated with a genomic and/or chromosome abnormality, of rejuvenating one or more human cells, of rejuvenating tissues or organs, and of rejuvenating a subject in need thereof, for example by contacting one or more human cells in the subject with an agent that increases expression of Zscan4, or by administering to a subject in need thereof, an agent that increases expression of Zscan4 are also provided.

The invention relates to induced pluripotent stem cells that are generated from cells, for example Adult Stem Cells, that are conditionally-immortalisable. In particular, the invention relates to induced pluripotent stem cells generated from stem cell lines comprising a controllable transgene for conditional immortalisation, and the progeny of those induced pluripotent stem cells such as cells of the haematopoietic lineage. Induced pluripotent stem cells, haematopoietic progeny cells derived from those pluripotent cells, compositions comprising those cells, methods of making all of those cells, and uses of all of those cells are also described.

The present disclosure relates to methods for improving myogenic differentiation capacity of a cell line or an immortalized cell line. For example, the present disclosure relates to methods of exposing an immortalized cell line (e.g., an immortalized fibroblast cell line) to culture media comprising signaling pathway agonists, antagonist, or a combination thereof in order to improve differentiation capacity. In another example, the present disclosure relates to methods of improving differentiation capacity of a cell line or an immortalized cell line where the method includes transforming an immortalized cell line with one or more myogenic regulatory factors and exposing the immortalized cell line to culture media comprising signaling pathway agonists, antagonists, or a combination thereof.

A composition according to an embodiment includes a first population of transformed mammalian cells with a transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β), the first population having a TGF-β expression level of 0.65 ng/10.sup.5 cells/24 hours or more, and a second population of mammalian cells which are not transformed with the transforming growth factor beta, the second population having an expression level of a thrombospondin 1 (TSP-1) expression level of 31 ng/10.sup.5 cells/24 hours or more.

A method for scarless genome editing is disclosed. In particular, the method provides scarless genome modification by using homology directed repair (HDR) steps to genetically modify cells and remove unwanted sequences. This method can be used for genome editing, including introducing mutations, deletions, or insertions at any position in the genome without leaving silent mutations, selection marker sequences, or other additional undesired sequences in the genome.

The invention provides a method for constructing a hepatic progenitor cell-like cell bank, including successively performing following processes to human primary hepatocyte cultures from different donor sources: transformation-culture, cryopreservation treatment, proliferation-culture, a first subculture treatment, virus infection, a second subculture treatment, continuous selection-culture and continuous subculture. In the method for constructing a heterogenous immortal hepatic progenitor cell-like cell bank of the present invention, the human primary hepatocyte culture of each of the donor sources is transformation-cultured before the proliferation-culture, which is beneficial in endowing the human primary hepatocyte cultures with good proliferation performance. Once combined with subsequent controlling of culture parameter, the immortal hepatic progenitor cell-like cell lines obtained from different donor sources may have good in vitro proliferation ability. The invention also provides an application of the hepatic progenitor cell-like cell bank and cell lines obtained by the construction method.

[Problem]

To find a method having higher stability, reproducibility, economic efficiency, and operation easiness in an evaluation method of safety of a substance in vitro, by using human immortalized myeloid cells.

[Solving Means]

A method for evaluating the skin sensitizing property and/or the pyrogenic property of a test substance, a method for detecting a skin sensitizer and/or a pyrogen in a sample, and a method for evaluating the action of a sample on a function of immune cells, each using human immortalized myeloid cells and including measuring the production amount of IL-6 and/or IL-8 in a culture medium of human immortalized myeloid cells.

The present invention provides methods and compostions to improve the efficiency of somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT). There is increasing evidence that the epigenetic state of donor nuclei has a significant impact on potential of nuclear transfer embryos to develop into blastocysts, from which pluripotent stem cells are derived. Strategic application of histone agents, capable of altering epigenetic state such as methylation, allows zygotic activation and robust blastocyst generation.