47 results about "Lineage specific" patented technology

Stem cells, including mammalian, and particularly primate primordial stem cells (pPSCs) such as human embryonic stem cells (hESCs), hold great promise for restoring cell, tissue, and organ function. However, cultivation of stem cells, particularly undifferentiated hESCs, in serum-free, feeder-free, and conditioned-medium-free conditions remains crucial for large-scale, uniform production of pluripotent cells for cell-based therapies, as well as for controlling conditions for efficiently directing their lineage-specific differentiation. This instant invention is based on the discovery of the formulation of minimal essential components necessary for maintaining the long-term growth of pPSCs, particularly undifferentiated hESCs. Basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), insulin, ascorbic acid, and laminin were identified to be both sufficient and necessary for maintaining hESCs in a healthy self-renewing undifferentiated state capable of both prolonged propagation and then directed differentiation. Having discerned these minimal molecular requirements, conditions that would permit the substitution of poorly-characterized and unspecified biological additives and substrates were derived and optimized with entirely defined constituents, providing a “biologics”-free (i.e., animal-, feeder-, serum-, and conditioned-medium-free) system for the efficient long-term cultivation of pPSCs, particularly pluripotent hESCs. Such culture systems allow the derivation and large-scale production of stem cells such as pPSCs, particularly pluripotent hESCs, in optimal yet well-defined biologics-free culture conditions from which they can be efficiently directed towards a lineage-specific differentiated fate in vitro, and thus are important, for instance, in connection with clinical applications based on stem cell therapy and in drug discovery processes.

Disclosed herein are methods of administering an agent targeting a lineage-specific cell-surface antigen and a population of hematopoietic cells that are deficient in the lineage-specific cell-surface antigen for immunotherapy of hematological malignancies.

A method of expanding and maintaining human embryonic stem cells (ESCs) in an undifferentiated state by culturing the ESCs in a suspension culture under culturing conditions devoid of substrate adherence is provided. Also provided are a method of deriving ESC lines in the suspension culture and methods of generating lineage-specific cells from ESCs which were expanded in the suspension culture of the present invention.

Purified preparations of human embryonic stem cells with certain population-specific characteristics are disclosed. This preparation is characterized by the positive expression of the following pluripotent cell surface markers: SSEA-1 (−); SSEA-4 (+); TRA-1-60 (+); TRA-1-81 (+); alkaline phosphatase (+), as well as a set of ES cell markers including Oct-4, Nanog, Rex1, Sox2, Thy1, FGF4, ABCG2, Dppa5, UTF1, Cripto1, hTERT, Connexin-43 and Connexin-45. The cells of the preparation are negative for lineage specific markers like Keratin 8, Sox-1, NFH (ectoderm), MyoD, brachyury, cardiac-actin (mesoderm), HNF-3 beta, albumin, and PDX1 (endoderm). The cells of the preparation are human embryonic stem cells, have normal karyotypes, exhibit high telomerase activity and continue to proliferate in an undifferentiated state after continuous culture for over 40 passages. The embryonic stem cell line Relicell™ hES1 also retains the ability, throughout the culture, to differentiate into cell and tissue types derived from all three embryonic germ layers (endoderm, mesoderm and ectoderm). Methods for isolating a human embryonic stem cell line are also disclosed.

Disclosed herein are methods of administering an agent targeting a lineage-specific cell-surface antigen and a population of hematopoietic cells that are deficient in the lineage-specific cell-surface antigen for immunotherapy of hematological malignancies.

The present invention relates to the field of stem cell biology, in particular the linage specific differentiation of pluripotent or multipotent stem cells, which can include, but is not limited to, human embryonic stem cells (hESC), human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSC), somatic stem cells, cancer stem cells, or any other cell capable of lineage specific differentiation. Specifically described are methods to direct the lineage specific differentiation of hESC and / or hiPSC to nociceptors (i.e. nociceptor cells) using novel culture conditions. The nociceptors made using the methods of the present invention are further contemplated for various uses including, but limited to, use in in vitro drug discovery assays, pain research, and as a therapeutic to reverse disease of, or damage to, the peripheral nervous system (PNS). Further, compositions and methods are provided for producing melanocytes from human pluripotent stem cells for use in disease modeling.

The invention provides biomarker profiles of metabolites and methods for screening chemical compounds including pharmaceutical agents, lead and candidate drug compounds and other chemicals using human stem-like cells (hSLCs) or lineage-specific cells produced therefrom. The inventive methods are useful for testing toxicity, particularly developmental toxicity and detecting teratogenic effects of such chemical compounds. Specifically, a more predictive developmental toxicity model, based on an in vitro method that utilizes both hSLCs and metabolomics to discover biomarkers of developmental toxicity is disclosed.

The present invention provides methods, improved cell culture medium and kits for promoting hematopoietic and mesenchymal stem and lineage-specific cell proliferation and differentiation by growth in the presence of angiotensinogen, angiotensin I (AI), AI analogues, AI fragments and analogues thereof, angiotensin II (AII), AII analogues, AII fragments or analogues thereof or AII AT2 type 2 receptor agonists, either alone or in combination with other growth factors and cytokines.

Methods for making human ES cells and human differentiated cells and tissues for transplantation are described, whereby the cells and tissues are created following somatic cell nuclear transfer. The nuclear transfer donor is genetically modified prior to nuclear transfer such that cells of at least one developmental lineage are de-differentiated, i.e., unable to develop, thereby resolving the ethical dilemmas involved in reprogramming somatic cells back to the embryonic stage. The method concomitantly directs differentiation such that the desired cells and tissues may be more readily isolated.