| acute lymphoblastic leukaemia | <haematology> A rapidly progressing cancer of the blood affecting the type of white blood cell known as lymphocytes. Approximately 650 new cases are diagnosed every year in the UK and it is the most common form of childhood leukaemia. Acronym: ALL Origin: Gr. Haima = blood (11 Nov 1997) |
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| common acute lymphoblastic leukaemia | <haematology, oncology> A sub-type of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia affecting cells early in the B lymphocyte lineage which accounts for about 80% of all acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. Origin: Gr. Haima = blood (13 Nov 1997) |
| lymphoblastic | Pertaining to the production of lymphocytes. (05 Mar 2000) |
| lymphoblastic leukaemia | Acute lymphocytic leukaemia in which the abnormal cells are chiefly (or almost totally) blast forms of the lymphocytic series, or in which unusually large numbers of the immature forms occur in association with adult lymphocytes. (05 Mar 2000) |
| lymphoblastic lymphoma | <tumour> A diffuse lymphoma in children, with supradiaphragmatic distribution and T lymphocytes having convoluted nuclei; many patients develop acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. (05 Mar 2000) |
| lymphoma, lymphoblastic | A high-grade malignant lymphoma composed of a diffuse, relatively uniform proliferation of cells with round or convoluted nuclei and scanty cytoplasm. The cells are cytologically similar to the lymphoblasts seen in acute lymphocytic leukaemia, and in some cases, the disease may evolve into a leukaemic phase morphologically indistinguishable from acute t-lymphocytic leukaemia (leukaemia, T-cell, acute). Lymphoblastic lymphoma represents approximately one-third of the cases of non-hodgkin's lymphomas in children and 5% of the cases in adults. It is more prevalent in males. (12 Dec 1998) |
| abiotic transformation | <biochemistry> An abiotic transformation is any process in which a chemical in the environment is altered by non-biological mechanisms (such as by exposure to sunlight). (09 Oct 1997) |
| bacterial transformation | <microbiology> A genetics lab procedure where bacteria are induced to accept and incorporate into their genome foreign pieces of cell-less, isolated DNA, often in the form of a plasmid. The DNA to be introduced usually contains a selectable marker so that the bacteria which successfully incorporate the DNA can be selected for. (09 Oct 1997) |
| blast transformation | <haematology> The morphological and biochemical changes in lymphocytes, both B and T, on exposure to antigen or to a mitogen. The cells appear to move from G0 to G1 stage of the cell cycle. They usually enlarge and proceed to S phase and mitosis later. The process probably involves receptor cross linking on the plasma membrane. (18 Nov 1997) |
| genetic transformation | <molecular biology> Genetic change brought about by the introduction of exogenous DNA into a cell. See: transformation, germ line transformation, transfection. (18 Nov 1997) |
| germ line transformation | Micro injection of foreign DNA into an early embryo, so that it becomes incorporated into the germ line of the individual and thus stably inherited in subsequent generations of transgenic organisms. Typically, the DNA would be a reporter gene or cDNA in a vector such as a transposon, that might also carry a visible marker gene such as eye or coat colour), so that successful transformation could readily be detected. (18 Nov 1997) |
| viral transformation | <oncology, virology> Malignant transformation of an animal cell in culture, induced by a virus. (18 Nov 1997) |
| cell transformation | Morphological and physiological changes resulting from infection of an animal cell by an oncogenic virus. (05 Mar 2000) |
| cell transformation, neoplastic | Cell changes manifested by escape from control mechanisms, increased growth potential, alterations in the cell surface, karyotypic abnormalities, morphological and biochemical deviations from the norm, and other attributes conferring the ability to invade, metastasize, and kill. (12 Dec 1998) |
| cell transformation, viral | An inheritable change in cells manifested by changes in cell division and growth and alterations in cell surface properties. It is induced by infection with a transforming virus. (12 Dec 1998) |