| tumour stem cell assay | <investigation> A cytologic technique for measuring the functional capacity of tumour stem cells by assaying their activity. It is used primarily for the in vitro testing of antineoplastic agent. (12 Dec 1998) |
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| tumor | 1. <oncology> An abnormal mass of tissue that results from excessive cell division that is uncontrolled and progressive, also called a neoplasm. Tumours perform no useful body function. They may be either benign (not cancerous) or malignant. 2. Swelling, one of the cardinal signs of inflammations, morbid enlargement. Origin: L. Tumere = to swell (12 May 1997) |
| tumor marker | <investigation, oncology> A substance in the body that usually indicates the presence of cancer. These markers are usually specific to certain types of cancer and are usually found in the blood or other tissue samples. Examples are alphafetoprotein (AFP), human chorionic gonadotropin, and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH). They may be indicators of tumour stage and grade as well as useful for monitoring responses to treatment and predicting recurrence. Many chemical groups are represented including hormones, antigens, amino and nucleic acids, enzymes, polyamines, and specific cell membrane proteins and lipids. (18 Jul 2002) |
| tumor necrosis factor | <cytokine> Originally described as a tumour inhibiting factor in the blood of animals exposed to bacterial lipopolysaccharide or Bacille Calmette-Guerin. Preferentially kills tumour cells in vivo and in vitro, causes necrosis of certain transplanted tumours in mice and inhibits experimental metastases. Human Tumour Necrosis factor alpha is a protein of 157 amino acids and has a wide range of pro inflammatory actions. Usually considered a cytokine. Synonym: cachectin. Acronym: TNF (13 Nov 1997) |
| peripheral blood stem cell transplantation | A procedure that is similar to bone marrow transplantation. Doctors remove healthy immature cells (stem cells) from a patient's blood and store them before the patient receives high-dose chemotherapy and possibly radiation therapy to destroy the leukaemia cells. The stem cells are then returned to the patient, where they can produce new blood cells to replace cells destroyed by the treatment. (12 Dec 1998) |
| pluripotent stem cell | <haematology> Cells in a stem cell line capable of differentiating into several different final differentiated types, for example there may be a pluripotent stem cell line for erythrocytes, granulocytes and megakaryocytes. (11 Mar 1998) |
| haematopoietic stem cell mobilization | The release of stem cells from the bone marrow into the peripheral blood circulation for the purpose of leukapheresis, prior to stem cell transplantion. Haematopoietic growth factors or chemotherapeutic agents often are used to stimulate the mobilization. (12 Dec 1998) |
| haematopoietic stem cell transplantation | The transference of stem cells from one animal or human to another (allogeneic), or within the same individual (autologous). The source for the stem cells may be the bone marrow or peripheral blood. Stem cell transplantation has been used as an alternative to autologous bone marrow transplantation in the treatment of a variety of neoplasms. (12 Dec 1998) |
| haemopoietic stem cell | <haematology> Cell that gives rise to distinct daughter cells, one a replica of the stem cell, one a cell that will further proliferate and differentiate into a mature blood cell. Pluripotent stem cells can give rise to all lineages, committed stem cells (derived from the pluripotent stem cell) only to some. (18 Nov 1997) |
| hematopoietic stem cell | <haematology> Cell that gives rise to distinct daughter cells, one a replica of the stem cell, one a cell that will further proliferate and differentiate into a mature blood cell. Pluripotent stem cells can give rise to all lineages, committed stem cells (derived from the pluripotent stem cell) only to some. (18 Nov 1997) |
| stem cell | 1. Cell that gives rise to a lineage of cells. Particularly used to describe the most primitive cells in the bone marrow from which all the various types of blood cell are derived. 2. More commonly used of a cell that, upon division, produces dissimilar daughters, one replacing the original stem cell, the other differentiating further (e.g. Stem cells in basal layers of skin, in haematopoetic tissue and in meristems). (13 Nov 1997) |
| stem cell factor | <growth factor> Haemopoietic growth factor 18.6 kD from sequence, found as dimer (35 kD protein, 53 kD in its glycosylated form). Acronym: SCF (18 Nov 1997) |
| stem cell growth factors | <growth factor> Compounds, usually proteins, that make stem cells grow faster. (26 Mar 1998) |
| stem cell leukaemia | A form of leukaemia in which the abnormal cells are thought to be the precursors of lymphoblasts, myeloblasts, or monoblasts. Synonym: embryonal leukaemia. (05 Mar 2000) |
| quiescent stem cell | A stem cell that is not at that time undergoing repeated cell cycles but that might be stimulated so to do later. For example: the satellite cells in the skeletal muscles of mammals that are quiescent myoblasts that will proliferate after wounding and give rise to more muscle cells by fusion. (18 Nov 1997) |