Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun Any of a group of glycoproteins that are produced by different cell types in response to various stimuli, such as exposure to a virus, bacterium, parasite, or other antigen, and that prevent viral replication in newly infected cells and, in some cases, modulate specific cellular functions.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun biochemistry Any of a group of
glycoproteins , produced by theimmune system , that preventviral replication in infected cells
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun an antiviral protein produced by cells that have been invaded by a virus; inhibits replication of the virus
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
[interfer(e) + –on.]
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
interfere + -on, from its role interfering with viral replication.
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Examples
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chained_bear commented on the word interferon
Usage on cytokine.
February 16, 2009