Stem cell terminology
What is a ‘blastocyst’ and what does ‘omnipotent’ mean? New to the world of stem cells? Learn and review common abbreviations and definitions in the field of stem cells.
Need a reminder about key terminology for genome-editing? Explore common genome-editing terminology with our genome-editing glossary.
A
- Adult Stem Cells: Stem cells found in developed tissues or organs that can generate cells specific to the tissue in which they reside.
B
- Blastocyst: An early-stage embryo consisting of a hollow sphere of cells formed during embryonic development.
E
- Embryonic Stem Cells (ESCs): Stem cells derived from the inner cell mass of a blastocyst. They have the potential to differentiate into any cell type in the body.
G
- Germ Cells: Cells that give rise to eggs or sperm and are capable of passing genetic information to offspring.
H
- Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (hiPSCs or iPSCs): Stem cells generated by reprogramming adult cells, such as skin cells, into a pluripotent state.
M
- Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs): Multipotent stem cells found in various tissues such as bone marrow, adipose tissue, and umbilical cord blood.
- Myeloid Progenitor Cells: Progenitor cells that give rise to red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets.
N
- Neural Stem Cells (NSCs): Stem cells capable of generating the various types of cells found in the nervous system.
O
- Oligopotent: Stem cells that can differentiate into a few closely related cell types.
P
- Placental Stem Cells: Stem cells derived from the placenta that possess multipotent or pluripotent characteristics.
- Pluripotent: Stem cells capable of differentiating into many cell types, but not all types of cells in the body.
- Progenitor Cells: Cells derived from stem cells that have begun to differentiate but are not yet fully developed into specialized cells.
S
- Sendai Virus: A type of RNA virus that can be used as a vector for delivering the Yamanaka factors into cells for the generation of iPSCs without integrating into the host genome.
- Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer (SCNT): A laboratory technique used to create embryos for therapeutic or reproductive purposes by transferring the nucleus of a somatic cell into an enucleated egg cell.
- Stem Cell Microenvironment: The surrounding tissue and cellular environment that influences stem cell behavior, including proliferation, differentiation, and self-renewal.
- Stem Cell Niche: Microenvironments within tissues that support stem cell maintenance and regulate their behavior.
- Stem Cell Therapy: The use of stem cells to treat or prevent diseases or conditions by replacing damaged or diseased cells with healthy ones.
T
- Teratoma: A type of tumor containing multiple tissue types derived from all three germ layers, often formed when pluripotent stem cells are transplanted inappropriately.
- Totipotent: Stem cells with the potential to develop into any cell type in the body, as well as extraembryonic tissues such as the placenta.
- Transdifferentiation: The process by which differentiated cells are reprogrammed to become a different cell type without first becoming pluripotent stem cells.
U
- Unipotent: Stem cells that can only differentiate into one type of cell.
W
- Wnt Signaling: Signaling pathways involved in regulating stem cell self-renewal, proliferation, and differentiation.
Y
- Yamanaka Factors: A set of transcription factors (Oct4, Sox2, Klf4, and c-Myc) used to reprogram adult cells into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs).