A protein-serine/threonine kinase that is activated by PIP3 and plays a key role in signaling cell survival.
apoptosis
An active process of programmed cell death, characterized by cleavage of chromosomal DNA, chromatin condensation, and fragmentation of both the nucleus and the cell.
apoptosome
A protein complex in which caspase-9 is activated to initiate apoptosis following the release of cytochrome c from mitochondria.
autophagy
The degradation of cytoplasmic proteins and organelles by their enclosure in cytoplasmic vesicles that fuse with lysosomes.
Bcl-2
A member of a family of proteins that regulate programmed cell death.
bone marrow transplantation
A clinical procedure in which transplantation of bone marrow stem cells is used in the treatment of cancer and diseases of the hematopoietic system.
caspase
A member of a family of proteases that bring about programmed cell death.
embryonic stem (ES) cell
A stem cell cultured from an early embryo.
hematopoietic stem cell transplantation
A clinical procedure in which transplantation of hematopoietic stem cells is used in the treatment of cancer and diseases of the hematopoietic system.
IAP
Inhibitor of apoptosis. A member of a family of proteins that inhibit apoptosis by interacting with caspases.
induced pluripotent stem cell
An adult somatic cell that has been reprogrammed in culture to resemble an embryonic stem cell.
necrosis
Accidental death of cells resulting from an acute injury.
niche
A microenvironment that maintains stem cells in tissues.
p53
A transcription factor (encoded by the p53 tumor suppressor gene) that arrests the cell cycle in G1 in response to damaged DNA and is required for apoptosis induced by a variety of stimuli.
phosphatidylinositide 3-kinase (PI 3-kinase)
An enzyme that phosphorylates PIP2, yielding the second messenger phosphatidylinositol 3,4,5-trisphosphate (PIP3).
pluripotency
The capacity to develop into all of the different types of cells in adult tissues and organs.
programmed cell death
A normal physiological form of cell death characterized by apoptosis.
reproductive cloning
The use of nuclear transfer to create a cloned organism.
somatic cell nuclear transfer
The basic procedure of animal cloning in which the nucleus of an adult somatic cell is transferred to an enucleated egg.
stem cell
A cell that divides to produce daughter cells that can either differentiate or remain as stem cells.
therapeutic cloning
A procedure in which nuclear transfer into oocytes could be used to produce embryonic stem cells for use in transplantation therapy.
tumor necrosis factor (TNF)
A polypeptide growth factor that induces inflammation and programmed cell death.
