● Cell: smallest structural and functional unit of an organism, which is typically microscopic

and consist of cytoplasm and nucleus enclosed in a membrane..

● Stem cell: an undifferentiated cell of a multicellular organism which is capable of giving rise
to indefinitely more cells of the same type, and form which certain other kinds of cells arise
by differentiation.
● Cellular differentiation: process where a cell changes from one cell type to another. Usually,
the cell changes to a more specialized type.
● Cellular fate (destino celular): describes its future identity, or the identity of its daughter
cells, before it is actually phenotypically through differentiation or division.
● Apoptosis: pathway of cell death induced by a tightly regulated suicidal program, to keep in
balance the development and growth of organisms. It is crucial in homeostasis,
morphogenesis and avoidance propagation of damaged cells.
● Tissue: set of cell types arising from one sort of progenitor/stem cell.
● ECM: non-cellular portion of a tissue. It is a collection of extracellular material produced and
secreted by cells into the surrounding medium.
● Collagen: it is a structural-fibrous protein, formed by a triple-helical structure. It is the most
abundant protein in ECM. We have found up to 28 collagen molecules. The collagen fibers
join each other to form a bundle of collagen fibers and obtain better mechanical properties.
● Fibronectin: is a glycoprotein that helps cells attach to the matrix, it is a dimmer (two large
subunits) joined by two disulfide bonds.
● Wound: injury or loss of integrity to the skin which can occur due to various causes such as
thermal injury, trauma, chronic ulcerations, etc. Chronic wounds can have a significant
impact on quality of life and treatment costs can be high. Advances in cellular and molecular
biology have led to the development of therapeutic interventions aimed at inducing skin
healing, but the ideal goal remains to regenerate the wounded tissue to its prior functional
and structural state.
● Inflammation: biological process that occurs in response to tissue injury, characterized by
the infiltration of platelets, neutrophils, and monocytes to the affected area. Platelets
aggregate, coagulate and activate, releasing adhesive proteins, chemotactic factors, and
growth factors to promote tissue formation. Neutrophils are the first phagocytotic leukocytes
to arrive at the wound site and cleanse the area of foreign particles, including bacteria. The
process of inflammation can lead to further tissue damage if excessive microorganisms or
indigestible particles are present, causing the release of enzymes and toxic oxygen products
by the infiltrating neutrophils.
● Re-epithelialization: process of rapid restoration of the skin's surface by the movement of
epithelial cells from the surrounding skin to the denuded (damaged) surface of a wound. This
process helps in preventing excessive water loss and reduces the time of exposure to
bacteria, thereby reducing the risk of infections and improving the patient's recovery. If a
large portion of the skin surface is lost, stem cells in hair follicles regenerate the missing
epidermal cells.
● Granulation tissue (scar tissue): new tissue that forms approximately four days after injury
and is characterized by its granular appearance. The appearance is due to the presence of
numerous new capillaries that have formed in the tissue. Granulation tissue is formed by the
interaction of macrophages, fibroblasts, and blood vessels, which move into the wound
space and are interdependent.
● Fibroplasia: refers to the formation of new stroma from fibroblasts and the extracellular
matrix (ECM) in granulation tissue. The process of fibroplasia is stimulated by growth factors
such as PDGF and TGF-b, which 00are released from macrophages or other tissue cells and
 can also be produced by fibroblasts themselves. Fibroplasia occurs in response to wound
cytokines and involves the proliferation, migration, and modulation of cytokine receptors in
fibroblasts.
● Fibrosis: pathological wound healing in which connective tissue replaces normal
parenchymal tissue to the extent that it goes unchecked, leading to considerable tissue
remodeling and the formation of permanent scar tissue.
● Neovascularization (angiogenesis): process of new blood vessel formation, also known as
angiogenesis. This process is a key component in the healing of wounds, as it accompanies
the formation of granulation tissue (fibroplasia) by providing blood supply to the newly
formed complex of fibroblasts and extracellular matrix. The process is influenced by various
soluble factors, including growth factors and bioactive substances, with most biologically
important angiogenic molecules having been identified.
● Cytoskeleton: microscopic network of protein filaments and tubules in the cytoplasm of
many living cells, giving them shape and coherence. We have 3 types of cytoskeletal
filaments: actin filaments, intermediate filaments, and microtubules.
● Actin filaments (microfilaments): two-stranded helical polymers of the protein actin. They
appear as flexible structures and they are organized into a variety of linear bundles,
two-dimensional networks and three-dimensional gels. There are necessary for the
whole-cell locomotion. They determine the shape of the cell surface. They have polarity (not
electrical tho).
● Microtubules: their function is the direct intercellular transport, they also determine the
position of the organelles and we can found them as a star-like shape emanating from the
center of the cell (centrosome). They have a cylinder shape made of protein tubulin (alfa and
beta tubuline) which are much more rigid than actin. They are long and straight, and they are
formed by 13 protofilaments aligned in parallel. They are also polarized.
● Intermediate filaments: they principally provide mechanical stability and DNA protection,
they hold the nucleus in place. They are made of intermediate filaments proteins, and they
exist many types (4 types). Formed by tetramers.
● Cellular migration: directed movement of a single cell or a group of cells in response to
chemical and or mechanical signals (chemotaxis and mechanotaxis). Cell migration is
involved in many physiological and pathological processes, wound healing, tissue repair,
angiogenesis…
● Cellular extension: specialized structures of the cell that extend the cell membrane and
project out from the cell surface.
o Lamellipodia: cytoskeletal protein action projection on the landing edge of the cell.
o Filopodia: are slender cytoplasmatic projections that extend beyond the leading
edge of lamellipodia in migrating cells.
● Collective cell migration: occurs when multiple cells retain cell-cell contact, coordinate (not
the same) their actin dynamics and intercellular signaling and thereby form a structural and
functional unit that traslocates across tissue. It contributes to cell and tissue dynamics, tissue
repair, cancer invasion, etc…
● Vasculogenesis: a process that creates the primary network of vascular endothelial cells that
will become major blood vessels.
● Angiogenesis: a process that remodels vascular networks into the small new blood vessels or
capillaries.

● Bioactive: surface that helps cell acquisition and proliferation.

● Potency: measure of how many types of specialized cells a stem cell can make.
● Totipotent cell: cell has the potential to divide until it creates an entire, complete organism.

● Pluripotent cells: cells can give rise to all the cell types that make up the body.

● Multipotent cells: can develop into more than one cell type, but are more limited than
pluripotent cells (ectoderm, mesoderm, or endoderm).

● Unipotent cells: gives rise to only one type of cell or tissue.

● Cellular lineage: denotes the developmental history of a tissue or organ from the fertilized
embryo.

● Stem cell niche: Specific anatomic location of a tissue that provides a specific
microenvironment, in which stem cells are present in an undifferentiated and self-renewable
state.

● Cellular plasticity: the ability of some stem cells to give rise to cell types.

● Primary cells: cells isolated directly from human or animal tissue using enzymatic or
mechanical methods. Once isolated, they are placed in an artificial environment in plastic or
glass containers supported with specialized medium containing essential nutrients and
growth factors to support proliferation.
● Cell lines: a cell line is a permanently established cell culture that will proliferate indefinitely
given appropriate fresh medium and space. They differ from primary cells in that they have
escaped the Hayflick limit and become immortalized.
● Cell origin types:
o Autologous: Patients own cells
o Allogenic: Other human source
o Xenogenic: Other species source
● Glycoproteins are the proteins with carbohydrates/sugars attached to them. These
proteins are often secreted by cells.

● Glycosaminoglycans (hyaluronan, aggrecan …) are covalently linked to proteins in

the form of proteoglycans and help to the mechanics of many tissues.

● Laminin: fibrous component of the ECM

o It is an important protein in the central nervous system as in basal intersect lamina.

o Influencing cell differentiation, migration, and adhesion.

o The trimeric proteins to form a cross-like structure that can bind to other cell
membrane and extracellular matrix molecules.