medimmune1
  
Animal Cell Technology Industrial Platform  
   last update February 2009


 
 
 
 
 
Glossary

Glossary of terms

Animal cell technology: that part of biotechnology which uses animal cells, propagated in-vitro, for the manufacture of bioproducts and as tools in the discovery and testing of medicines.
Antigen: any substance which is capable of inducing a specific immune response and of reacting with the products of that response (e.g. an antibody or specifically sensitised T-cells).
Antigenic determinant: the structural component of an antigen molecule that is responsible for specific interaction with antibody molecules elicited by the same or a related antigen.
Ascites: the accumulation of serous fluid in the abdominal cavity of a mammal.
Attenuation: decreasing the virulence of a pathogenic organism.
Bioreactor: a closed vessel for the cultivation of cells under controlled conditions.
Cell bank: a uniform pool of cells, distributed into vials and preserved, typically by freezing in liquid nitrogen. A vial is thawed to start each new production cycle.
Cell line: cells which result from the subcultivations of primary cell cultures.
Continuous cell line: a cell line which has acquired the characteristic of being 'immortal', i.e. capable of growing indefinitely in culture.
Epitope: an antigenic determinant of known structure.
Expression: the formation of proteins and peptides in a cell or on a cell surface by translation of the genetic code.
Gene: the biological unit of heredity, containing information for structure and function. A gene is composed of a specific sequence of nucleic acids.
Genetic engineering: a term which comprises methods for (1) the isolation and recombination of genetic material (including recombination of DNA from different species), (2) the insertion of recombinant DNA into an organism, either the original one or one in which this DNA does not naturally occur (host cell) and (3) the replication and expression of this DNA in its new environment.
Gene therapy: modification of genetic information of somatic cells of the patient with the purpose to replace or supplement defective or missing parts of cellular DNA.
Host system: a cell type which is used as the carrier for DNA from another source.
Humanising: adaptation of non-human genes to the human genetic code, to enable animal cells or bacteria to express human-like molecules.
Hybridoma: a cell line resulting from the fusion of an antibody secreting blood cell (lymphocyte) and an immortal myeloma cell line. Produces a 'monoclonal' antibody.
Immunoglobulin: a protein of animal origin endowed with known antibody activity, synthesised by lymphocytes and plasma cells. They function as specific antibodies and are responsible for the humoral (blood-related) aspects of immunity.
Immunology: that branch of medical science concerned with the response of the organism to antigenic challenge, the recognition of self from non-self, and all the biological, serological and physical-chemical aspects of immune phenomena.
Lymhokines: a 'family' of proteins produced by lymphocytes (blood cells) which have a wide range of regulatory functions within the body.
Magic bullet: the concept describing the linking of a specific antibody (often a monoclonal antibody) to a toxin or drug with the purpose of bringing the toxin or drug specifically to the target cell or tissue.
Medium: fluid composed of all nutrients necessary for cell cultivation.
Nutrients: substances necessary for growth, normal functioning and maintaining life. Most often amino acids, carbohydrates, minerals, fatty acids and vitamins.
Peptide: a class of compounds of low molecular weight which consist of two or more amino acids.
Pharmacodynamics: the biochemical and physiological effects of drugs and the mechanisms of their actions.
Pharmacokinetics: the reaction of the body on a drug over a period of time, including processes of absorption, distribution, localisation in tissues, biotransformation and excretion.
Posttranslational modification: changes to a protein occurring after the genetic code has been 'translated' into an amino acid sequence (protein). Examples are the folding of a protein, the secondary deletion of amino acids, the formation of structural bridges or the addition of small molecules (sugar, phosphates etc) to a protein.
Primary cell culture: a culture of cells, tissues or organs taken directly from organisms and before the first subculture.
Protein: large complex organic compounds built of many amino acids. They are the principle constituents of cells.
Receptor: a specific molecule on the surface or within the cytoplasm of a cell that specifically recognises and binds other molecules, e.g. antigens, hormones or neurotransmitter molecules. The specific binding elicits a specific response (reaction).
Recombinant-DNA technology: see genetic engineering.
Somatic cell therapy: the administration of cells grown or treated in culture to a patient to cure or alleviate the symptoms of a disease.
Systemic toxicity: damaging effects to the body as a whole.
Transgenic organism: an organism living with an altered or additional gene as a result of genetic engineering.
Transfection: the process of transferring or introducing a gene or nucleic acid to a recipient cell
 
 

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