Biol 697: Stem Cell Biology, Exam 1

Front 1

Bisulfite sequencing

Back 1

A technique whereby the methylation of each CpG site in a defined stretch of DNA is determined.

Front 2

Epigenetic

Back 2

Factors involved in influencing gene expression during development, without affecting DNA base sequence.

Front 3

Gastrulation

Back 3

The period of embryonic development during which the definitive body plan is laid down. Cells from the primitive extoderm pass through the "primitive streak" region to form a third layer, the mesoderm, between ectoderm and endoderm.

Front 4

Meiosis

Back 4

The process by which germ cells divide to generate gametes.

Front 5

Pluripotent

Back 5

Capable of giving rise to all the cell types in the fetus, but unable on its own to form a fetus.

Front 6

Blastocyst

Back 6

The late pre-implantation stage of development when the embryo cavitates to form a hollow sphere bounded by a monolayer of trophectoderm

Front 7

Chimera

Back 7

An animal composed of cells originating from two or more embryos produced, for example, by injecting embryonic stem cells into a blastocyst of different genotype.

Front 8

Embryonic stem cells (ES cells)

Back 8

Stem cells derived from the preimplantation embryo with an unrestricted capacity for self-renewal that has potential to form all types of adult cells including germ cells. Have only been obtained from mice, thus far.

Front 9

Embryonic stem cell-like cells (ESL cells)

Back 9

Stem cells that resemble murine embryonic stem cells, but whose potential to colonize the pre-implantation embryo and form all types of adult cells including germ cells has yet to be established.

Front 10

Epiblast stem cells (EpiSc)

Back 10

Stem cells obtained from early postimplantation mouse embryos that resemble ESL cells from other species in terms of the conditions required for maintaining pluripotency and inducing differentiation.

Front 11

Induced pluripotential stem cells (iPS cells)

Back 11

Differentiating or differentiated cells induced to return to a pluripotent state by manipulating them to express genes associated with pluripotency.

Front 12

Pluripotency

Back 12

The potential to from most or all types of specialized cells: to be distinguished from totipotency, that is the ability to form a complete embryo capable of giving rise to offspring.

Front 13

Actual functional stem cell

Back 13

The cells on which the tissue is ultimately dependent for day-to-day cell replacement.

Front 14

Dividing transit cells

Back 14

The amplifying cells derived from stem cells that continue to divide several times before undergoing terminal differentiation (maturation) into the functional cells of the tissue.

Front 15

Epidermal proliferative unit

Back 15

The functional group of proliferative basal cells derived from a single stem cell, together with the distally arranged functional differentiated cells.

Front 16

Potential stem cell

Back 16

A cell that retains the capacity to function fully as a stem cell if necessary. (Normally these are displaced into the transit amplifying cell population and thus lose their ability to return to stemness.)

Front 17

Self-maintenance probability

Back 17

The probability that stem cells make other stem cells on division. (Applies to populations of stem cells, not individual stem cells.)

Front 18

Tongue proliferative unit

Back 18

A modified version of the epidermal proliferative unit identified in the filiform papillae on the dorsal surface of the tongue.

Front 19

ES cells (embryonic stem cells)

Back 19

Stem cells derived from the preimplantation embryo with an unrestricted capacity for self-renewal that have the potential to form all types of adult stem cells including germ cells.

Front 20

iPS cells

Back 20

Cells derived by somatic cell reprogramming to a pluripotent state using reprogramming factors.

Front 21

Oct4, Sox2, Klf4, c-myc

Back 21

The four txn factors first described to be sufficient to reprogram somatic cell by ectopic expression.

Front 22

Somatic cell reprogramming

Back 22

The process of converting a differentiated somatic cell into into a pluripotent stem cell like state.

Front 23

Adult stem cell

Back 23

Relatively undifferentiated precursor cells that maintain the ability throughout adult life to proliferate, producing some progeny cells that maintain stem cell identity and other progeny that initiate differentiation along one or more defined lineages.

Front 24

APC

Back 24

The human adenomatous polyposis coli gene, a negative regulator of Wnt signaling. Also, a structural protein associated with the cytoplasmic face of adherens junctions. Mutations in the APC gene are linked to the development of colorectal cancer.

Front 25

CySC

Back 25

Cyst stem cell--stem cell for the somatic cyst cells in the Drosophila testis.

Front 26

GSC

Back 26

Germline stem cell.

Front 27

HSC

Back 27

Hematopoietic stem cell.

Front 28

Niche

Back 28

The local microenvironment that supports stem cell maintenance and self-renewal.

Front 29

SSC

Back 29

Spermatogonia stem cells

Front 30

Wnt

Back 30

A secreted growth factor that binds to members of the Frizzled family of cell surface receptors.

Front 31

Pluripotency

Back 31

An ability to differentiate into a variety of cells that belong to all three germ layers, with at least one cell type for each.

Front 32

Self-renewal

Back 32

A style of cell division characteristic of stem cells that yields at least one daughter cell with the same differentiation ability as the parental stem cell. (Symmetric and asymmetric.)

Front 33

Stem cell

Back 33

A cell that has the ability to self-renew and differentiate.

Front 34

ATPase remodeling complexes

Back 34

Multi-subuni protein complexes that utilize a catalytic ATPase subunit to alter the conformation and structure of nucleosomes and modulate chromatin structure, and therefore transcription and other processes.

Front 35

Chromatin

Back 35

The structure that the genome adopts as a result of DNA being physically associated with histones and non-histone proteins in the nucleus of eukaryotic cells.

Front 36

DNA methylation

Back 36

The addition of methyl groups to specific nucleotides in genomic DNA, which in mammals occurs on cytosines almost alays in the context of CpG dinucleotides.

Front 37

Histone code

Back 37

The action and interaction of covalent histone modifications, which are enriched on N-terminal histone tails, to affect transcription and other biochemical processes.

Front 38

Imprinting

Back 38

Monoallelic expression of a gene in a diploid cell based on maternal versus paternal inheritance.

Front 39

Nucleosome

Back 39

The most fundamental unit of chromatin, consisting of 147 bp segments of DNA wrapped 1.65 times around histone octamers.

Front 40

Pc-G and trx-G

Back 40

The polycomb and trithorax group genes encode multi-subunit complexes that counteract each other at the level of chromatin structure to maintain the expression of Hox genes and other genes in a silent state and active state, respectively.

Front 41

Position-effect variegation

Back 41

A type of mosaic gene silencing where heterochromatin spreads from one genomic interval into flanking sequences thus silencing a gene in a subset of cells.

Front 42

X-chromosome inactivation

Back 42

Mammalian dosage compensation mechanism normally involving inactivation on one of the two X chromosomes in females.

Front 43

Blastocyst

Back 43

Very early embryo consisting of a spherical outer epithelial layer of cells known as the trophectoderm, a clump of cells attached to the trophectoderm known as the inner cell mass, and a fluid filled cavity, the blastocoel.

Front 44

Chimera

Back 44

Organism made up of cells from two or more different genetic donors.

Front 45

Differentiation

Back 45

Process during embryogenesis or in pluri-/multi- potent cells in culture in which an increase in the complexity or organization of a cell or tissue results in a more specialized function.

Front 46

Implantation

Back 46

Process by which the mammalian blastocyst physically connects with the uterus of the mother.

Front 47

Primitive endoderm

Back 47

An extraembryonic lineage that forms part of the yolk sac; does not contribute to embryonic material or endodermal tissue like the gut, liver, or pancrease!

Front 48

Trophectoderm

Back 48

The outer layer of cells of the blastocyst which are the sole precursors to the trophoblast lineage of the placenta. They do not contribute to the embryo proper.

Front 49

Trophoblast

Back 49

A general term used to describe all the cell types of the developing and mature placenta derived from the trophectoderm.

Front 50

Karyotype

Back 50

The chromosome characteristics of an individual cell or of a cell line, usually presented as a systematized array of metaphase chromosomes from a photomicrograph of a single cell nucleus.

Front 51

Pluripotent cells

Back 51

In development, a parent cell that gives rise to a distinct cell lineage by a series of cell divisions.

Front 52

Telomere

Back 52

A specialized nucleic acid structure found at the ends of linear eukaryotic chromosomes.

Front 53

Teratoma

Back 53

Malignant tumor thought to originate from primordial germ cells or misplaced blastomeres that contains tissues derived from all three embryonic layers, such as bone, muscle, cartilage, nerve, tooth buds, and various glands.

Front 54

Epigenesis

Back 54

The formation of entirely new structures during development of the embryo.

Front 55

Epigenetic

Back 55

The study of mitotically and / or meiotically heritable changes in gene function that cannot be explained by changes in DNA sequence.

Front 56

Genomic reprogramming

Back 56

The process that alters functions and properties of a cell through reversible modifications of DNA or associated proteins, without affecting the DNA sequences itself.