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Glossary & Terms

This compilation of abbreviations and terms is provided to help interpret the topic material. This is also a valuable resource when investigating the primary literature cited in the FAQ's and Recommended Articles.

Abbreviation/Term
Meaning/Definition
Aa Amino Acid
Ab Antibody
Adhesion Molecules Membrane-expressing molecules that mediate interactions of stem cells and progenitors with stromal cells or with extracellular matrix proteins in the bone marrow microenvironment.
Adipose cells Fat cells in the bone marrow
Ag Antigen
AGM Aorta-gonads-mesonephros: Site LHSC in the embryo.
Angiogenesis The growth and sprouting of additional blood vessels from pre-existing blood vessels
AML Adult Myeloid Leukemia
APC Antigen Presenting Cell
AsymetricDivision One daughter cell quiescent and the other proliferating and moving away from site of division
Autophagy Self-eating cells: Delivery of cytoplasmic constituents such as whole organeels to the lysosome for degradation. Occurs during starvation, aging and development. It is a recycling process.
BFU-E Erythrocyte Burst Forming Unit (Early erythroid progenitors)
Blastocyte (or blastula) 4-5 day embryo formed prior to implantation in the uterus. Is comprised of a hollow mass of only a few undifferentiated stem cells.
BM Bone Marrow
Bp Base pair
BSA Bovine Serum Albumin
CD Cluster Designation: Used with a number to indicate a cell surface marker.
CD33 Present on committed progenitors in the myeloid lineages.
CD34 Present on Lymphohematopoietic stem cells and their progenitors. Express at high densities in the most primitive cells and become dim as the cells mature towards differentiation.
CD38 Not detectable on Lymphohematopoietic stem cells but begin to appear as the cells commit towards a lineage.
CD133 Also referred as Prominin. A marker of LHSC
Cell Release Movement of bone marrow cells out of the sinus into the peripheral circulation.
CFU Colony Forming Unit
CFU-E Erythrocyte Colony Forming Unit (Late stage erythrocyte progenitors)
CFU-GM Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony Forming Unit
CFU-S Colony Forming Unit- Spleen
Chemoattractant A factor that attract a cell, e.g., a cytokine or a chemokine
Chemotaxis Attraction of a cell to an area where there is a gradient increase of a particular factor
CLP Common Lymphoid Progenitor
CMP Common Myeloid Progenitor
CNS Central Nervous System
cRNA Complementary RNA
CSF Colony stimulating factors: Generally referred to groups of cytokines and other growth factors that can stimulate Lymphohematopoietic stem cells and bone marrow progenitors. (In general, they are the hematopoietic stimulators)
CXCR, CXC Chemokine receptor
Cytokines A family of small labile molecules that seem functionally redundant. They are mostly naturally glycoprotein and are important in regulating the maturation of bone marrow stem cells.
Da Dalton (kDa: kilodalton)
Differentiation Downward steps towards the development of mature immune and blood cells
De-differentiation Backward movement of differentiated cells to immature types.
DC Dendritic Cells
Definitive LHSC Functional migrating cells that can home to the bone marrow and repopulate the host.
Pre-definitive LHSC
DNA Deoxyribonucleic acid
dsDNA Double-stranded DNA
Diapedesis Transendothelial migration
EC Endothelial Cells
EGC Embryonic Germ Cells
EPC Endothelial Progenitor Cells or Adult Angioblasts
Epigenetic

Alterations in gene-expression patterns, without changes in DNA sequence. This could occur by modification of proteins that surround the genomic DNA:   

  • Cytosine DNA methytlation (a methyl group is transferred from S-adenosylmethionine to C-5 position of cytosine by a family of cytokine-methyltransferases. This generally occurs at CpG nucleotides and is important in the regulation of gene expression and silencing
  • Genomic Imprinting: Silencing of a parental gene.
  • Histone Modifications: Acetylation, methylation and phosphorylation.
Epigenetic Inheritance Transmission of non-DNA sequence via meiosis or mitosis.
Euchromatin DNA open and available
Heterochromatin DNA not available
Epo Erythropoietin (a hormone that stimulate erythropoiesis)
Erythropoiesis Development of red blood cells
ETP Early T-lineage Progenitor
ELP Earliest Rag+ lymphocyte progenitor
Extravasation Movement of a cell in or out of the bone marrow through endothelial barrier. Chemotaxis cannot account for this type of movement.
Extravascular Compartment Areas in the bone marrow microenvironment that are not blood vessels
ECM Extracellular matrix: Fibronectin, collagen etc. Excreted from stromal cells and regulate functions in bone marrow, in particular, LymphoHematopoietic Stem Cells
EPC Endothelial Progenitor Cell
ES Embryonic Stem Cell
Extramedullary Outside the bone marrow
FACS Fluorescence-activated cell sorter
FITC Fluorescein isothiocyanate (Use to tag other proteins (e.g., antibodies) for immunofluorescence)
FL Fetal Liver
FCS Fetal Calf Sera
FSC Forward Scatter
G-CSF Granulocyte colony stimulating factor: Used to mobilize bone marrow in the periphery and to differentiate granulocyte precursor to neutrophils.
GM-CSF A cytokine: Granulocyte-Macrophage colony stimulating factor: Growth factors for Lymphohematopoietic stem cells.
GMP Granulocyte/macrophage progenitor
Genomic Imprinting The expression of a gene depending on which parental allele is expressed.
Harvesting Collecting bone marrow cells for transplantation
Hematopoiesis Formation of 8 distinct lineages from a Lymphohematopoietic Stem Cell (LHSC)
Hgb Hemoglobin
HLA-DR Hluman Histocompatibility Leukocyte Antigen-DR (analogous to MHC-Class II)
HME Hematopoietic/Bone Marrow Microenvironment
Homing A cell when transplanted, goes to a particular site through specific, e.g., if a Lymphohematopoietic stem cells given intravenously goes directly to the bone marrow and forms its niche in the area of stromal cells.
HUVEC Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells
IFN Interferon
Interleukins A growing family of cytokines. To date there are 22 members in the family.
Intramedullary Inside the bone marrow
Intravascular Compartment Blood vessels within the bone marrow microenvironment
LHSC (sometimes referred as HSC) LymphoHematopoietic Stem Cell
Lin (-) When several antibodies are used to deplete committed progenitors. The remaining cells are lineage negative (Lin -).
Lymphohematopoietic (LHSC): General Bone Marrow System that generates immune and blood cells.
LHSC (human) In general: CD34+/Lin -
LHSC (mouse) Sca1+/s-kit+/Lin-
LN Lymph node
LTC-IC Long term culture initiating cells assay (To study primitive bone marrow progenitors)
LT-HSC Long-term hematopoietic stem cell
Lymphopoiesis Development of lymphoid cells: T-cell, B-cells, NK cells and Dendritic cells, DC (only if NK and DC cells are formed from the lymphoid lineages)
Mature Usually referred to the differentiated cells of hematopoietic lineages.
M-CSF Monocyte-Colony Stimulating Factor
Megakaryocyte Cells of myeloid lineage that differentiate into platelets
MEP Megakaryocyte/erythrocyte progenitor
MHC-Class I Major Histocompatibility Complex, Class I: Expressed on all cells.
MHC-Class II Major Histocompatibility Complex, Class II: Expressed on bone marrow Lymphohematopoietic stem cells, antigen presenting cells, mesenchymal stem cells, activated T-cells
Microenvironment The structures, cells, factors (e.g., ECM), nerve fibers etc that comprise the bone marrow/hematopoietic system.
Migration Cells that move from one site to the other, in the absence of a known chemoattractant.
MK Megakaryocyte
MLR Mixed Lymphocyte Reaction
MΦ Macrophage
MNC Mononuclear Cells
Mobilization Injecting a chemoattractant to move stem cells from the bone marrow into the periphery.
Monopotent A bone marrow progenitor that has matured but is committed towards one lineage.
Morula Spheroidal mass of cells from early cleavage divisions of the zygote.
MPC or MAPC Multiple progenitor or multiple adult progenitor: These are terminologies used by Dr. C. Verfaillie (Univ. of Minnisota) to describe her stem cell that others referred as mesenchymal stem cell.
MPP Multipotent Progenitor
mRNA Messenger RNA
MSC Mesenchymal Stem Cell
Multipotent A multipotent cell is not a stem cell but is close to a stem cell with regards to cell maturation. Thus, a multipotent cell has less potential to survive for a long period as compared to a pluripotent stem cell. These types of cells are considered as `cell in transition’.
Myelopoiesis Lineages distinct from the lymphoid lineages.
NCS Neural Stem Cell
Niche Stabilization of a cell in a particular microenvironment and area of the bone marrow.
NK Natural Killer cells
4-Oct
 Octamer Binding Factor: Important in ES and prevents differentiation.
Ontogeny Development of Lymphohematopoietic System
Parthenogenesis Embryonic development without male contribution.
PBMC Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells
Pericyte This is an old terminology. Currently, these cells might be the recently defined mesenchymal stem cells.
Pluripotent Cell A self-renewing cell that has the capability to commit toward different cell lineages along one germ layer, e.g., hematopoietic stem cells can make immune and red blood cells. Thus, a pluripotent cell is a stem cell.
PMN Polymorphonuclear Cells (e.g., neutrophils)
Precursor The stage of lineage just before the differentiated cell.
Primitive LHSC Cells cannot home to the bone marrow and repopulate a host. Needs to undergo maturation on stromal cells and cytokines.
Reticular Cell Non-descript cells in the bone marrow that have not been characterized. Sometimes fibroblasts and mesenchymal stem cells are referred as reticular cells.
RNA Ribonucleic Acid
SCID Severe Combined Immundeficiency
SSEA Stage-specific embryonic antigen
SH-2, -3, -4 Markers developed by Osiris Biotechnology to detect mesenchymal stem cells. SH-2 has the specificity as for CD105 (endoglin) and SH-4 for stro-1
Sinus Marrow sinus: Area of the blood vessels where the arterial and venous blood mix. Mature hematopoietic cells and other bone marrow cells exist through the sinus into the peripheral circulation.
Spln Spleen
SRC SCID repopulating cells
SSC Side Scatter
Stochastic Ramdom
Stroma The supporting layer of hematopoiesis in bone marrow
ST-HSC Short-term hematopoietic stem cell
TdT Terminal deoxynucleotidyltransferase
TERT Telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT = human…)
TF Transcription Factor
Tg Transgenic
TGF- Transforming Growth Factor
TNF- Tumor Necrosis Factor-
Totipotent Unlimited potential to differentiate into cells of the three germ layers, e.g., Embryonic Stem Cells. These cells can also generate trophoblasts.
TPO Thrombopoietin
Trabeculae Soft bones in the marrow compartment
Transdifferentiation 1 Cells in one lineage forming cells of another lineage, e.g., lymphoid cells forming myeloid type cells.
Transdifferentiation 2 Stem cells in one organ forming differentiated cells of another organ, e.g., bone marrow stem cells forming hepatocytes.
Traffic Trafficking or circulation of cells refer to the movement of cells out of the bone marrow and through the periphery. The cells might return to the bone marrow.
Translocation Breaking part of a chromosome to another chromosome, e;g., bcr - abl oncogene formed by translocation, t(9:22) as seen in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML).
UCB Umbilical Cord Blood
Vasculogenesis Formation of primitive vascular networks from endothelial progenitors.
vWF von Willebrand Factor (a marker of endothelial cells)
YS Yolk Sac
Zygote Diploid cell of fusion between male and female gametes at fertilization.