Adaptability: The ability of muscle tissue to change in response to how it is used. It can enlarge (undergo hypertrophy) with increased exercise or decrease in size (atrophy) with less exercise.
Adhesion: The process by which cells interact and attach to neighboring cells or the extracellular matrix.
Allogeneic: Cells, tissues, and organs in which the donor and recipient are genetically different individuals of the same species.
Ammonia: A waste product made by the human body during the digestion of protein.
Antibiotics: A medicine that inhibits the growth of or destroys certain microorganisms, such as bacteria.
Antimycotics: A medicine that inhibits the growth of or destroys certain fungi.
Autogeneic: Cells, tissues, and organs in which the donor and recipient are the same individuals.
B
Bio contaminants: Bacteria, viruses, fungi, parasites, insects, arachnids, etc. that can contaminate organisms or the environment.
Biomolecule: A biologically active peptide, protein, carbohydrate, vitamin, lipid, or nucleic acid produced by and purified from naturally occurring or recombinant organisms, tissues or cell lines, or synthetic analogs of such molecules.
Biopsy: The removal and examination of cells/tissues/fluid from a living organism. This is often used to discover the causes of a disease, determine the extent or presence of a disease, or gather cells for use in tissue-engineered products.
Bioreactor: A manufactured device/system that supports a biologically active environment.
C
Cell adhesion molecules: cell adhesion proteins located on the cell surface involved in binding with other cells or with the extracellular matrix. Cell adhesion molecules help cells stick to each other and to their surroundings.
Chemotaxis: movement of a motile cell or organism, or part of one, in a direction corresponding to a gradient of increasing or decreasing concentration of a particular substance.
Conditioning sensors: A sensor that checks the physical, chemical, and biological properties of the medium
Contractility: The ability of tissue, such as muscle, to contract. To contract is to increase the tension in the muscle or decrease the overall length of the muscle in order to perform an action.
D
Dedifferentiation: Process by which cells grow reversely to a less specialized stage.
Delamination: When the tissue-engineered product pulls itself off of the petri dish.
Denaturation: When a protein’s structure is affected by heat, acidity, or other effects and the protein is no longer able to function.
Detoxification: The removal of toxic substances from a living organism.
Differentiation: process in which a cell changes from one cell type to another (usually more specialized) type
Donor site morbidity: Cell/tissue/organ death at the area where cells/tissues/organs were extracted from a donor.
E
Elasticity: The ability of muscle tissue to recoil back to its original length after it is stretched.
Excitability: The ability of muscle tissue to respond to a stimulus, such as an electrical stimulus from a nerve or a chemical stimulus from a hormone.
Extensibility: The ability of muscle tissue to be stretched and extended.
Extraembryonic tissue: The three germ layers: ectoderm, mesoderm, and endoderm. These layers are necessary for nutrition and patterning the development of the embryo.
F
Fluid dynamics: The study of the flow of fluids (liquids and gases).
Fluid viscosity: The measure of a fluid’s resistance to a change in shape or movement.
G
H
I
Immortalized cell lines: Modified cells that can grow indefinitely in culture. They are commercially used but can be expensive and dangerous.
Immune rejection: When the recipient’s immune system recognizes the tissue-engineered product as foreign and does not accept it in the body. This results in the product being attacked and/or destroyed by the recipient’s immune system.
Inlet pump: A pump that pumps the media into the bioreactor
Innervation: The process of developing nerves that allow the tissue to communicate with other parts of the organism.
In vitro: Outside a living organism; in a test tube, culture dish, or another artificial environment.
In vivo: Within a living organism.
L
Ligands: a molecule that binds to another (usually larger) molecule.
M
Medium reservoir: An area for the feeding media to be stored.
Mesenchymal stem cells: Multipotent adult stem cells.
Metabolism: The chemical processes and reactions that occur within a living organism in order for the organism to grow, reproduce, function, and maintain homeostasis.
Metabolites: A substance that is formed in metabolism or necessary for metabolism to occur.
Microenvironment: A small or relatively small environment that is usually different from its surroundings.
Migration: The directed movement of a single cell or a group of cells in response to chemical and/or mechanical signals.
Monolayer: A single continuous layer or film that is one cell in thickness.
Multipotent stem cells: Adult stem cells that can be differentiated into any cell within the same class.
Myoblasts: An undifferentiated cell that is able to become a muscle cell.
O
Outlet sensors and outlet pump: Sensors and the pump for the used media to exit the bioreactor and determine its pH, oxygen concentration, etc..
Oxygenating tube: A tube with an aeration stone that allows oxygen to dissolve into the feeding media.
P
Phenotype: observable characteristics or traits of an organism, such as eye color, hair color, height, etc., that results from its genes and environment.
Physiological: Relating to the normal functions of living organisms and their parts.
Pluripotent stem cells: Stem cells that can be differentiated into any cell type except for extraembryonic tissue. They come from the placenta, cord blood, and amniotic stem cells, which raises ethical and sourcing concerns.
Polymer: A substance or material consisting of many repeating subunits, such as macromolecules or plastic particles.
Primary cell lines: Cells directly extracted from an organism’s tissue.
Proliferation: The reproduction of cells.
Protein integrity: The proper structure of a protein that is caused by interactions between its subunits (amino acids).
Purification: The process of ridding cells of foreign elements such as bacteria, viruses, etc.
S
Scaffold: Materials that have been engineered to cause interactions between the cells and contribute to the formation of the tissue.
Secondary cell lines: Frozen or passaged primary cells. This process increases the cell number and allows for easy storage. However, freezing can have a negative impact on the cell phenotype.
Shear stress: A stress state where stress is parallel to the surface of the material.
Solenoid valve: An electromechanically-operated valve that controls whether the media goes into a chamber or reservoir in the bioreactor.
Stem cells: Progenitor cells capable of self-replication, proliferation, and differentiation.
T
Thermoregulation: The process of regulating the temperature of something. For example, human bodies use thermoregulation to keep our core internal temperatures at around 37°C.
Totipotent stem cells: Stem cells that can develop into any type of cells.
Toxicology: A field of science that studies the harmful effects of certain chemicals, substances, or situations on people, animals, or the environment.
Transdifferentiation: When mature cells become cells from different lineages with different specialized functions.
Transducer: A device that converts energy from one form to another.
U
Undifferentiated: Refers to a cell that has yet to develop into a specialized cell.
Urea: An end product of the digestion of protein within our bodies. It is excreted through urine.
V
Vascularization: The process of becoming vascular, which means having blood vessels.
W
Waste reservoir: An area for the used media to be stored.
X
Xenogeneic: Cells, tissues, and organs in which the donor and recipient belong to different species.