Glossary
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- adipose
- Fat or tissue containing fat cells.
- adult stem (AS) cells
- Stem cells found in the adult organism (e.g., in bone marrow, skin, and intestine) that replenish tissues in which cells often have limited life spans. They are more differentiated than embryonic stem (ES) cells or embryonic germ (EG) cells.
- apheresis
- A technique in which blood products are separated from a donor, the desired elements collected and the rest returned to the donor.
- blastocyst
- A mammalian embryo in the stage of development that follows the morula. It consists of an outer layer of trophoblast to which is attached an inner cell mass.
- cell line
- A permanently established cell culture that will proliferate indefinitely given appropriate fresh medium and space
- cloning
- The production of a precise genetic copy of a molecule (including DNA), cell, tissue, plant, or animal.
- differentiation
- The specialization of characteristics or functions of cell types.
- electrofusion
- Process by which an adjacent enucleated oocyte and a somatic donor cell are shocked with an applied electrical current so that their outer membranes fuse together, producing one cell.
- embryo
- 1) the beginning of any organism in the early stages of development, 2) a stage (between the ovum and the fetus) in the prenatal development of a mammal, 3) in humans, the stage of development between the second and eighth weeks following fertilization, inclusive.
- embryonic stem (ES) cells
- Cells that are derived from the inner cell mass of a blastocyst embryo.
- enucleated oocyte
- An oocyte that has had its genetic material removed.
- ex utero
- Outside of the uterus.
- hematopoietic
- Pertaining to the formation of blood cells.
- immunosuppression
- A state of the body in which the immune system is damaged and does not perform its normal functions. Immunosuppression may be induced by drugs or result from certain disease processes (such as HIV infection).
- in vitro
- Latin for "in glass": Processes taking place in test tubes or similar containers.
- in vivo
- Latin for "in life" : Processes taking place in a living organism.
- mesenchymal stem cell
- A particular kind of stem cell that may give rise to tissues of mesodermal origin, including muscle, bone, and related tissues.
- morula
- Cells resulting from the early division of the fertilized egg at the beginning of pregnancy.
- multipotent
- Refers to cells that can differentiate into a few different types (e.g., just kinds of heart cells).
- nuclear transfer
- In nuclear transfer the DNA is removed from an unfertilized egg and the nucleus of a specially prepared body cell is introduced and the combination or "couplet" is triggered either by an electrical pulse, or the introduction of a chemical, to fuse them together and begin the process of development. Much remains to be learned about what happens in this process, and most attempts fail at the start.
- oocyte
- A female germ cell in the works; a developing egg cell.
- oviducts
- The tubular tract in female animals through which eggs are discharged either to the exterior or, in mammals, to the uterus.
- pluripotent
- Referring to cells able to give rise to virtually any tissue type, but not to a functioning organism.
- quiescence
- This is the state in which all but the most basic functions of a cell or group of cells has stopped, usu. a response to an unfavorable environment, such as one in which the food supply is low or absent.
- somatic cells
- Refers to cells of the body excluding germ (reproductive) cells.
- stem cell
- A cell which can divide into a copy of itself and a differentiated progeny.
- totipotent
- Refers to cells able to give rise to virtually any tissue type and (as shown experimentally in mice) to a functioning organism.
- xenotransplantation
- The transfer of organs or tissues from a donor of one species to a recipient of another