differentiation

(noun)

The gradual changes that occur when a cell or tissue type changes into a different type. Cells generally become more specialized the more they differentiate, and are considered to be terminally differentiated when they cannot differentiate (and often cannot divide) any further.

Related Terms

  • gastrula
  • neural groove
  • myelocyte
  • megakaryocyte

(noun)

The gradual formation or production of organs or parts by a process of evolution or development, as when the seed develops the root and the stem, the initial stem develops the leaf, branches, and flower buds; or in animal life, when the germ evolves the digestive and other organs and members, or when the animals as they advance in organization acquire special organs for specific purposes.

Related Terms

  • gastrula
  • neural groove
  • myelocyte
  • megakaryocyte

Examples of differentiation in the following topics:

  • WBC Formation

    • The daughters are the myeloid and lymphoid progenitor cells, which cannot self renew but differentiate into various myeloid leukocytes and lymphocytes respectively.
    • Following this split in differentiation, the subtypes undergo eventual differentiation into terminally-differentiated leukocytes, which typically do not divide independently.
    • Myelocytes are an offshoot of common myeloid progenitor cells, which also differentiate into the erythropoietic and magakaryotic progenitors.
    • This diverse group differentiates into granulocytes and monocytes.
    • Monocytes further differentiate into macrophages or dendritic cells upon reaching certain tissues.
  • Growth Factors

    • A growth factor is a naturally occurring substance capable of stimulating cellular growth, proliferation and cellular differentiation.
    • A growth factor is a naturally occurring substance capable of stimulating cellular growth, proliferation and cellular differentiation such as granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), a growth factor which stimulates the production of white blood cells.
    • Hormones are secreted from specialized ductless glands into the circulatory system, differentiating them from cytokines.
    • Hematopoiesis as it occurs in humans, with important hemopoietic growth factors affecting differentiation.
    • This chart shows the complexity of interactions, and the multitude of growth factors that stimulate proliferation and differentiation of cells that is common to all cell types.
  • Clonal Selection and T-Cell Differentiation

    • Following antigen presentation, the T cell is activated and begins to differentiate.
    • T Cell differentiation happens via the following steps:
    • Cloned daughter cells differentiate into either effector T cells or memory T cells.
    • Cytotoxic effector T cells are finished, but helper T cells continue to differentiate into individual subsets of helper T cells.
    • A hematopoietic stem cell undergoes differentiation and genetic rearrangement to produce lymphocytes in the immune system.
  • Muscle Development

    • The first differentiation of the hESCs that form the embryo proper, is in three cell types known as the germ layers: the ectoderm, the mesoderm, and the endoderm.
    • A myoblast is a type of embryonic progenitor cell that differentiates to give rise to muscle cells.
    • Satellite cells are able to differentiate and fuse to augment existing muscle fibers and to form new ones.
    • In undamaged muscle, the majority of satellite cells are quiescent; they neither differentiate nor undergo cell division.
    • They are able to differentiate and fuse to augment existing muscle fibers and to form new ones.
  • Clonal Selection and B-Cell Differentiation

    • B Cell Activation refers to the differentiation and clonal expansion of B cells.When the B cell receptor on the cell surface matches its cognate antigen present in the body, the B cell proliferates and secretes a free form of those receptors (antibodies) in the body with identical binding sites as the ones on the original cell surface.
    • After activation, the B cell will then undergo differentiation and clonal expansion, which usually involves migrating to germinal centers should the activation take place in a lymph node.
    • B Cell differentiation refers to the process by which B cells change into different types, such as plasma cells and plasma blasts.
    • For example, memory B cells that differentiate after an adaptive immune response are thought to undergo clonal selection, so that antibodies produced by newer memory B cells have considerably higher binding affinities to their antigen.
  • Development of Blood

    • Hematopoietic stem cells reside in the bone marrow and have the unique ability to differentiate into all of the mature blood cell types.
    • Cell determination appears to be dictated by the location of differentiation.
    • For instance, the thymus provides an ideal environment for thymocytes to differentiate into a variety of different functional T cells.
    • On the other hand, thrombopoietin makes myeloid progenitor cells differentiate to megakaryocytes, which produce platelets.
    • Structures called "blood islands" form in the yolk sac of an embryo by cellular differentiation of hemangioblasts into endothelial cells.
  • Medical Uses of Hematopoietic Growth Factors

    • Hemopoetic growth factors regulate the growth, differentiation, and proliferation of progenitor cells in the blood and bone marrow.
    • Hemopoietic growth factors regulate the differentiation and proliferation of particular progenitor cells.
    • Trials of a modified recombinant form, megakaryocyte growth and differentiation factor (MGDF), were stopped when healthy volunteers developed autoantibodies to endogenous thrombopoietin and then developed thrombocytopenia themselves.
  • Development of the Central Nervous System

    • This tube initially differentiates into three vesicles (pockets): the prosencephalon at the front, the mesencephalon, and between the mesencephalon and the spinal cord, the rhombencephalon.
    • As the vertebrate grows, these vesicles differentiate further still.
    • The telencephalon differentiates into, among other things, the striatum, the hippocampus, and the neocortex, and its cavity becomes the first and second ventricles.
  • Gastrulation

    • During gastrulation, the embryo develops three germ layers (endoderm, mesoderm, and ectoderm), which differentiate into distinct tissues.
    • However, some common features of gastrulation across triploblastic organisms include: (1) A change in the topological structure of the embryo, from a simply connected surface (sphere-like), to a non-simply connected surface (torus-like); (2) the differentiation of cells into one of three types (endodermal, mesodermal, or ectodermal); and (3) the digestive function of a large number of endodermal cells.
  • Development of Blood and Blood Vessels

    • ESCs have the characteristic properties of a stem cell: self-renewal and differentiation.
    • Progenitor stem cells are committed to differentiating along a particular cell developmental pathway.
    • The former requires differentiation of endothelial cells from hemangioblasts and then the further organization into a primary capillary network.
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