Glossary GUVWXYZ

• Gate: A set of filters placed around a population of interest to analyze various parameters (extrinsic and intrinsic) of the cells contained within the selected region
• Gel electrophoresis: Method of separating either proteins or DNA based on their size and electrical charge
• Genes: Specific sequences of nucleotides in chromosomes that carry information for a protein or a noncoding RNA molecule
• Variants: Changes in a nucleotide sequence.
• Volumetric pipette: A pipette that is marked and calibrated to deliver only one volume of a specified liquid.
• Viremia: The presence of a virus circulating in the blood.
• Venereal Disease Research Laboratory (VDRL) test: A flocculation test for the cardiolipin antibody produced in syphilis patients; an example of a nontreponemal test.
• Virus-like particle: Particles (VLPs) formed when proteins from a viral capsid or envelope assemble to produce structures similar to the virus from which they were derived; VLPs are the major component of some viral vaccines.
• Vaccine: An antigen preparation derived from a pathogen that is administered to healthy individuals in order to produce immunity to an infectious disease.
• Zone of equivalence: The point in an antigen-antibody reaction at which the number of multivalent sites of antigen and antibody are approximately equal, resulting in optimal antigen-antibody reaction (e.g., precipitation).
• Xenograft: The transfer of tissue from an individual of one species to an individual of another species, such as animal tissue transplanted to a human.
• Viral load tests: Quantitative tests for nucleic acid from viruses such as HIV. These tests are used to predict disease progression and to monitor the effects of antiretroviral therapy.
• Virulence factors: Characteristics of a microorganism that can increase its pathogenicity by contributing to its ability to establish itself in the host, invade or damage host tissue, or evade the host immune response.
• Virulence: A quantitative trait of an organism that refers to the extent of pathology it can cause when it infects a host.
• Variable region: The amino-terminal region of an immunoglobulin that has a unique amino acid sequence and is responsible for the antigen specificity of an antibody.
• Variable: Anything that can be changed or altered in laboratory testing.
• Waldenström macroglobulinemia: An immunoproliferative disease caused by a malignancy of lymphocytes that results in production of immunoglobulin M (IgM) paraproteins.
• Wegener’s granulomatosis (WG): See granulomatosis with polyangiitis (PGA).
• Weil’s disease: Severe systemic leptospirosis involving renal and hepatic failure.
• Yeast: A unicellular form of certain fungi that reproduces asexually by budding, in which the parent cell divides into two unequal parts.
• Varicella-zoster virus (VZV): A herpes virus that causes chickenpox and zoster, or shingles.
• Western blot test: A confirmatory test that has been used for some infections (e.g., HIV, Lyme disease) based on separation of antigens from the pathogen by electrophoresis followed by transfer or blotting of the antigen pattern to a supporting medium for reaction with test serum.
• Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome (WAS): A rare X-linked recessive syndrome characterized by immunodeficiency, eczema, and thrombocytopenia.
• Gate: A set of filters placed around a population of interest to analyze various parameters (extrinsic and intrinsic) of the cells contained within the selected region
• Gel electrophoresis: Method of separating either proteins or DNA based on their size and electrical charge. Samples are placed in wells on the gel and exposed to an electrical current
• Genes: Specific sequences of nucleotides in chromosomes that carry information for a protein or a noncoding RNA molecule
• Genetic code: A set of three nucleotides that code for one amino acid
• Genome: The entire set of genes in an organism
• Genomics: The study of all the genes in an organism
• Germinal center: The interior of a secondary follicle where blast transformation of B cells takes place
• Globally Harmonized System (GHS): An international system that standardizes the classification of hazardous chemicals and the symbols used for these hazards on labels and in safety data sheets
• Goodpasture’s syndrome: An autoimmune disease characterized by the presence of an autoantibody to collagen in the glomerular (kidney) or alveolar (lung) basement membranes; also known as antiglomerular basement membrane disease
• Graduated pipette: A pipette that has markings all along its length to allow for varying amounts of liquid to be measured
• Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD): A condition that results from transplantation of immunocompetent cells into an immunodeficient host. The transfused cells attack the tissues of the recipient within the first 100 days posttransplant
• Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF): A cytokine produced by fibroblasts and epithelial cells that enhances the production of neutrophils
• Granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF): A cytokine produced by T cells and other cell lines that stimulates increased production of granulocytic cells and macrophages
• Granuloma: An organized cluster of inflammatory cells formed in some type IV hypersensitivity responses
• Granulomatosis with polyangiitis (PGA): An autoimmune disease involving inflammation of the small-to-medium-sized blood vessels and the production of anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA); formerly known as Wegener’s granulomatosus
• Graves’ disease: An autoimmune disease characterized by hyperthyroidism caused by the presence of antibody to thyroid-stimulating hormone receptors. Antigen-antibody combination results in continual release of thyroid hormones
• Group A streptococcus (GAS): Gram-positive, catalase-negative cocci often found in pairs or chains that are responsible for diseases ranging from pharyngitis to necrotizing fasciitis