The Cell Therapy Glossary – An Essential Resource

Susan L. Solomon, NYSCF CEO, and Dr. Michael Yaffe, NYSCF Vice President of Scientific Programs, contributed eleven new definitions and an editorial on the importance of including the patient voice in developing stem cell therapies to the third edition of the Cell Therapy Glossary. This latest edition includes over 35 new terms as selected by an expert panel on which Ms. Solomon and Mr. Yaffe sat.

Published in Regenerative Medicine, the Glossary serves a critical purpose for both expert scientists and the lay public by standardizing and explaining the cell therapy terminology used in the regenerative medicine industry. The Glossary allows scientists around the world to “speak the same language” when describing exciting updates and new research.

Read the press release in Regenerative Medicine

Explore the Cell Therapy Glossary

The terms contributed by NYSCF:

Haplotype – a group of genes or alleles usually inherited together from a single parent, reflecting the haploid genotype

HLA Haplobank – a panel or repository of iPSC lines that are homozygous for HLA types and could be used to derive immunologically-compatible tissues for therapeutic transplantation

Mitochondria – subcellular organelles that generate chemical energy to power cellular processes and also serve as sites for numerous metabolic processes and reactions

Mitochondrial replacement – a potential therapy to prevent certain mitochondrial diseases by replacing mutant maternal mitochondria in an oocyte (egg) with those from an unaffected individual prior to in vitro fertilization

Genomic modification – stable, intentional and directed change of a cell’s DNA sequence using biotechnology methods

CRISPR/Cas – a biotechnology tool, utilizing components of a prokaryotic immune system, for making highly specific genomic modifications

RNA-Seq – an analytical method that can reveal the identities and quantities of RNAs expressed from genes in a cellular sample

Disease-in-a-dish – a human disease model comprised of cultured cells displaying properties of diseased tissue

Note: many such models are generated using cells differentiated from iPSCs derived from individuals with a specific disease

Paracrine – influence or signaling by a cell on nearby cells or tissues through localized secretion and diffusion of small molecules or proteins

Investigational New Drug Application (IND) – a key step in development of a new drug or medical treatment in which the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is notified that a novel therapeutic will be used experimentally

Stem Cell Tourism – seeking or receiving stem-cell based treatments for disease or injury from clinics or practitioners that offer untested or unproven therapies