In cell biology, a precursor cell, also called a blast cell or simply blast, is a partially differentiated cell, usually referred to as a

unipotent In mathematics, a unipotent element ''r'' of a ring ''R'' is one such that ''r'' − 1 is a nilpotent element; in other words, (''r'' − 1)''n'' is zero for some ''n''. In particular, a square matrix ''M'' is a unipoten ...

cell that has lost most of its stem cell properties. A precursor cell is also known as a progenitor cell but

progenitor cell A progenitor cell is a biological cell that can differentiate into a specific cell type. Stem cells and progenitor cells have this ability in common. However, stem cells are less specified than progenitor cells. Progenitor cells can only differ ...

s are

multipotent Pluripotency: These are the cells that can generate into any of the three Germ layers which imply Endodermal, Mesodermal, and Ectodermal cells except tissues like the placenta. According to Latin terms, Pluripotentia means the ability for many thin ...

. Precursor cells are known as the intermediate cell before they become differentiated after being a stem cell. Usually, a precursor cell is a stem cell with the capacity to differentiate into only one cell type. Sometimes, ''precursor cell'' is used as an alternative term for unipotent stem cells. In

embryology Embryology (from Greek ἔμβρυον, ''embryon'', "the unborn, embryo"; and -λογία, ''-logia'') is the branch of animal biology that studies the prenatal development of gametes (sex cells), fertilization, and development of embryos ...

, precursor cells are a group of cells that later differentiate into one organ. A

blastoma A blastoma is a type of cancer, more common in children, that is caused by malignancies in precursor cells, often called blasts. Examples are nephroblastoma, medulloblastoma, and retinoblastoma. The suffix ''-blastoma'' is used to imply a tumor ...

is any cancer created by malignancies of precursor cells. Precursor cells, and progenitor cells, have many potential uses in medicine. , there is research being done to use these cells to build heart valves, blood vessels and other tissues, by using blood and muscle precursor, or progenitor cells.

Cytological types

Oligodendrocyte precursor cell Oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs), also known as oligodendrocyte precursor cells, NG2-glia, O2A cells, or polydendrocytes, are a subtype of glia in the central nervous system named for their essential role as precursors to oligodendrocytes. ...

* Myeloblast *

Thymocyte A Thymocyte is an immune cell present in the thymus, before it undergoes transformation into a T cell. Thymocytes are produced as stem cells in the bone marrow and reach the thymus via the blood. Thymopoiesis describes the process which turns thymo ...

* Meiocyte * Megakaryoblast * Promegakaryocyte *

Melanoblast A melanoblast is a precursor cell of a melanocyte. These cells migrate from the trunk neural crest cells (in terms of axial level from neck to posterior end) dorsolaterally between the ectoderm and dorsal surface of the somites. See also *Biolo ...

Lymphoblast __NOTOC__ A lymphoblast is a modified naive lymphocyte with altered cell morphology. It occurs when the lymphocyte is activated by an antigen (from antigen-presenting cells) and increased in volume by nucleus and cytoplasm growth as well as new mRN ...

* Bone marrow precursor cells *

Normoblast A nucleated red blood cell (NRBC), also known by several other names, is a red blood cell that contains a cell nucleus. Almost all vertebrate organisms have hemoglobin-containing cells in their blood, and with the exception of mammals, all of the ...

* Angioblast ( endothelial precursor cells) * Myeloid precursor cells *

Plasmablast Plasma cells, also called plasma B cells or effector B cells, are white blood cells that originate in the lymphoid organs as B lymphocytes and secrete large quantities of proteins called antibodies in response to being presented specific substan ...

References

Citations

Sources

Precursor cell – Britannica Online Encyclopedia

External links

NIF Search - Precursor Cell
via the

Neuroscience Information Framework The Neuroscience Information Framework is a repository of global neuroscience web resources, including experimental, clinical, and translational neuroscience databases, knowledge bases, atlases, and genetic/genomic resources and provides many auth ...

Cell biology Stem cells {{Cell-biology-stub