Stem Cells from A-Z

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Ancestor cell

General term for cell without self-renewal ability that contributes to tissue formation. In some cases it generates tissue stem cells.
Synonyms: precursor cell.

Asymmetric division

Cell division resulting in two daughter cells with different properties. Observed in some but not all stem cells and can occur in other types of progenitor cell.

Autologous cell therapy

A therapy using cells derived from a patient’s own body. This often involves the extraction of cells and an ‘ex vivo’ (outside the body) step of growing and multiplying them before transplanting them back into the patient.

Allogeneic cell therapy

A therapy using cells derived from a donor to treat a different patient. Often intended to become an ‘off the shelf’ cell therapy product which uses cells derived from a single donor to treat many unrelated patients.