| AADC | amino acid decarboxylase |
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| AAM | acute aseptic meningitis; American Academy of Microbiology; amino acid mixture; African American Mal... |
| AAO | American Academy of Osteopathy; American Academy of Ophthalmology; American Academy of Optometry; Am... |
| aa seq | amino acid sequence |
| AOAA | amino-oxyacetic acid |
| Fas-activated serine-threonine kinase | <enzyme> Phosphorylates tia-1 during fas-mediated apoptosis; contains proline-rich sh3-binding domains; mw 60-63 kD; genbank x86779 Registry number: EC 2.7.10.- Synonym: fast kinase (26 Jun 1999) |
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| killer cells, lymphokine-activated | Cytolytic lymphocytes with the unique capacity of killing natural killer (nk)-resistant fresh tumour cells. They are interleukin-2-activated nk cells that have no MHC (major histocompatibility complex) restriction or need for antigen stimulation. Lak cells are used for adoptive immunotherapy in cancer patients. (12 Dec 1998) |
| fluorescence-activated cell sorter | <technique> Flow cytometry is an emerging technique which holds great promise for the separation, classification and quantitation of blood cells and antibodies which affect blood cells. Complex computerised instruments are used to pass a monocellular stream of cells, platelets or other microscopic particulate elements through a beam of laser light. The cells are categorised first by size and then computer analysed to sort the mixture of cellular elements into cell type by size. Cells are labelled with fluorescent dye and then passed, in suspending medium, through a narrow dropping nozzle so that each cell is in a small droplet. A laser based detector system is used to excite fluorescence and droplets with positively fluorescent cells are given an electric charge. Charged and uncharged droplets are separated as they fall between charged plates and so collect in different tubes. The machine can be used either as an analytical tool, counting the number of labelled cells in a population or to separate the cells for subsequent growth of the selected population. Further sophistication can be built into the system by using a second laser system at right angles to the first to look at a second fluorescent label or to gauge cell size on the basis of light scatter. The great strength of the system is that it looks at large numbers of individual cells and makes possible the separation of populations with, for example: particular surface properties. Tabulation of counted data in conjunction with size analysis enables determination of relative percentages of each specific cellular subset for which monoclonal antibody conjugates are utilised, even when the size of the cell is identical to other subset species. Flow cytometry is a slightly imprecise but common term for the use of the Fluorescence-activated Cell Sorter (FACS). (01 Dec 1998) |
| fluorescence-activated cell sorting | <technique> A technique for separating and sorting cells marked with a fluorescent label based on how much they fluoresce at a particular wavelength. (12 Jan 1998) |
| light-activated resin | A resin which uses visible or ultraviolet light to excite a photoinitiator which interacts with an amine to form free radicals and initiate polymerization. Used mainly in restorative dentistry. Synonym: light-activated resin. (05 Mar 2000) |
| amino- | <prefix> Prefix denoting a compound containing the radical, -NH2. Origin: an(monia) + in(e) + -o- (05 Mar 2000) |
| amino acids | Organic compounds that generally contain an amino (-nh2) and a carboxyl (-cooh) group. Twenty alpha-amino acids are the subunits which are polymerised to form proteins. (12 Dec 1998) |
| amino acids, branched-chain | Amino acids which have a branched carbon chain. (12 Dec 1998) |
| amino acids, cyclic | A class of amino acids characterised by a closed ring structure. (12 Dec 1998) |
| amino acids, peptides, and proteins | Amino acids and chains of amino acids connected by peptide linkages. (12 Dec 1998) |
| amino acyl-tRNA ligases | <enzyme> Any of the group of ligases that catalyses the ATP-driven formation of a bond between an amino acid and a trna, activating the amino acids as a step in protein synthesis. Individual enzymes are highly specific for one amino acid and for any trna corresponding to that amino acid. Registry number: EC 6.1.1. (12 Dec 1998) |
| amino alcohols | Compounds possessing both a hydroxyl (-oh) and an amino group (-nh2). (12 Dec 1998) |
| amino group | <biochemistry> An -NH2 group. Organic compounds which have this group are called amines. (09 Oct 1997) |
| amino sugar | <biochemistry> Monosaccharide in which an OH group is replaced with an amino group, often acetylated. Common examples are D galactosamine, D glucosamine, neuraminic acid, muramic acid. Amino sugars are important constituents of bacterial cell walls, some antibiotics, blood group substances, milk oligosaccharides and chitin. (18 Nov 1997) |
| amino sugars | Sugar's in which a hydroxyl group has been replaced with an amino group; e.g., d-glucosamine. (05 Mar 2000) |