Choose a Term... Adult stem cell Allogeneic Autologous Blastocyst Blastomeres Bone marrow Cell culture Cell line Cellular reprogramming Chimera Clinical research Cloning Co-culture Cord blood stem cells Culture medium Development Differentiation Disease modeling Drug screening Ectoderm Endotherm Embryo Embryoid body Embryonic germ cell Embryonic stem cell Epigenetic Expressed Feeder cells Fertilization Fetus Fibroblast Gene Gene expression Gene therapy Genome Genotype Germ cell Germ layer Germ line GMP Graft rejection Graft-versus-host disease Hematopoietic Histocompatibility Immunosuppression Implantation In utero In vitro In vitro fertilization In vivo Induced pluripotent cell Inner Cell Mass IRB Mesenchymal Stem Cells Mesoderm Morula Multipotent Neural stem cell Nuclear transfer Nucleus Oocyte Nullipotency Oligopotency Parthenogenesis Passage Phenotype Plasticity Pluripotent Primitive streak Pre-implantation Progenitor cell Regenerative medicine Reproductive cloning Reprogramming Retrovirus RNAi Self-renewal Somatic Somatic cell nuclear transfer Stem Cell Teratoma Therapeutic cloning Tissue Engineering Tissue-specific stem cell Totipotent Transcription Transcriptional profile Transdifferentiation Transduction Transfection Transformation Transgene Translation Translational research Transplantation Trophectoderm Umbilical cord stem cells Unipotency Xenograft and Xenotransplantation Zona pellucida Zygote

Adult stem cell: Tissue-specific stem cells. A stem cell found in fetal and/or adult tissues that typically generates the type of tissue in which it is found (blood stem cells make blood, neural stem cells make neurons, and so forth).

Allogeneic: Cells or tissue obtained from donors for use in transplantation. The term applies if the donor is related or unrelated to the transplant recipient.

Autologous: Cells or tissue obtained from the patient. Sometimes a patient will have a portion of her own tissues stored for therapeutic use later. Examples include privately banked umbilical cord blood or a patients own bone marrow that is stored prior to receiving chemotherapy for solid tumors. The patients own marrow may then be transplanted at a later date to rescue the person from the side effects of chemotherapy on her blood system.

Blastocyst: The four-to-nine day-old embryo (post-fertilization) which consists of 100-200 total cells and is approximately 1/10 of a millimeter in diameter (roughly the size of a period at the end of this sentence). This stage of development is prior to implantation in the uterus. Only two types of cells are present at this time, the trophectoderm (foundation of the placenta) and the inner-cell mass or ICM, which will also contribute cells to the extraembryonic tissues as well as the entire fetus. The blastocyst looks like a hollow, fluid-filled ball of trophectodermal cells where the ICM forms a slight lump on the inner wall. It is from this developmental stage that the vast majority of embryonic stem cells are obtained.

Blastomeres: The earliest cleavage stages of the embryo. The fertilized egg (zygote) cleaves to make two cells termed blastomeres which in turn cleave to make four and so on. The blastomeres are no longer called such at the morula stage of pre-implantation development. Blastomeres are totipotent as removal of one blastomere may create an identical twin in vivo.

Bone marrow: The spongy tissue that fills most long bone cavities and contains hematopoietic stem cells. The bone marrow also contains other cell types such as mesenchymal stem cells, endothelial (vascular) cells, macrophages (debris clearing cells), and more.

Cell culture: The process of growing cells in the laboratory.

Cell line: A culture of related cells. A single embryo may be used to produce a line (or population) of cells that are genetically identical to one another as they divide and create a larger population. Two different cell lines originate from two different embryos. Cell lines may be expanded (i.e. put into cell culture to make greater numbers of them), frozen, and/or shared with other scientists. Thus, a single cell line may be simultaneously cultured in laboratories around the world as it is maintained and shared by different scientists.

Cellular reprogramming: The process of changing a cells gene expression profile from one type (such as a neuron) to another type (such as an embryonic stem cell).

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Children's Hospital Boston Glossary - Stem cell