The present invention relates to a method of cultivating an epithelial stem/progenitor cell population of the amniotic membrane of umbilical cord, the epithelial stem/progenitor cell population having the capacity to differentiate in multiple cell types.

The present invention relates to inorganic salts of nicotinic acid mononucleotides and compositions of Formula I, useful in the treatment of disorders and diseases associated with deficiencies in NAD.sup.+:

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wherein A, M.sup.1, M.sup.2, k, R.sup.1, R.sup.2, and R.sup.3 are as described herein.

Disclosed herein are cells including cells expressing CD24 and related methods of their use and generation. In some embodiments, the cells disclosed herein do not express one or more MHC I and/or MHC II human leukocyte antigens. In some embodiments, the cells are hypoimmunogenic.

The present disclosure relates to methods for producing lentiviral vectors using mammalian cells. Specifically, the methods utilize three plasmids, rather than four, to provide the required packaging elements and transfer vector to a cell, allowing for the production of a large number of lentiviral vectors in mammalian cells, including suspension-based cells. These methods allow for the production of lentiviral vectors that can be tailored to include a specific gene of interest.

Provided is a temporary treatment medium for inhibiting embryo developmental arrest due to manipulation of an embryo or the like. A temporary treatment medium according to the present invention reduces damage to an in-vitro culture due to manipulation thereof, said in-vitro culture containing one of pluripotent stem cells, reproductive cells, a fertilized egg, and an embryo or any combination thereof. For this purpose, the temporary treatment medium contains a cytoskeleton regulator and/or an apoptosis inhibitor. The cytoskeleton regulator and/or the apoptosis inhibitor is preferably an Rho kinase inhibitor. Specifically, a Rock inhibitor can be used as the Rho kinase inhibitor. The Rock inhibitor is, for example, Y-27632. The temporary treatment medium is used for treating an in-vitro culture for a specific period before and/or after manipulation involving damage thereto.

Provided are methods of deriving a mammalian livestock pluripotent stem cells line, by (a) ex-vivo culturing a mammalian livestock embryo of at least 7 days post-fertilization for a culturing period of at least 4 days and no more than until 21 days post-fertilization so at to obtain an embryo comprising epiblast cell and/or late stage pluripotent stem cell; (b) isolating from the embryo the epiblast cell and/or the late stage pluripotent stem cell, and (c) culturing the epiblast cell and/or the late-stage pluripotent stem cell under conditions suitable for expansion of undifferentiated mammalian livestock pluripotent stem cells to thereby obtain a population of mammalian livestock pluripotent stem cells. Also provided are isolated mammalian livestock pluripotent stem cells, and cells differentiated therefrom.

Well-defined, xeno-free culture media which comprise a TGF-beta isoform or the chimera formed between IL6 and the soluble IL6 receptor (IL6RIL6), which are capable of maintaining stem cells, and particularly, human embryonic stem cells, in an undifferentiated state are provided. Also provided are cell cultures comprising the culture media and the stem cells and methods of expanding and deriving embryonic stem cells in such well-defined, xeno-free culture media. In addition, the present invention provides methods of differentiating ESCs or EBs formed therefrom for the generation of lineage specific cells.

Populations of cells enriched in fetal cells from a biological sample obtained from a pregnant subject are prepared using microbubbles, resulting in a sufficient number of fetal cells having a quality suitable for sequencing and providing non-invasive prenatal diagnosis of genetic disorders.

Disclosed herein are cell cultures comprising dorsal and/or ventral PDX1-positive foregut endoderm cells and methods of producing the same. Also disclosed herein are cell populations comprising substantially purified dorsal and/or ventral PDX1-positive foregut endoderm cells as well as methods for enriching, isolating and purifying dorsal and/or ventral PDX1-positive foregut endoderm cells from other cell types. Methods of identifying differentiation factors capable of promoting the differentiation of dorsal and/or ventral PDX1-positive foregut endoderm cells, are also disclosed.

The present invention relates to automated methods for isolating fetal cells from a sample, such as a blood sample, derived from a pregnant woman. The isolated fetal cells can be used for identifying genetic abnormalities in the fetal DNA.