OPSONIN

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does opsonin mean? 

• OPSONIN (noun)
  The noun OPSONIN has 1 sense:

1. an antibody in blood serum that attaches to invading microorganisms and other antigens to make them more susceptible to the action of phagocytes

  Familiarity information: OPSONIN used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• OPSONIN (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

An antibody in blood serum that attaches to invading microorganisms and other antigens to make them more susceptible to the action of phagocytes

Classified under:

Nouns denoting substances

Hypernyms ("opsonin" is a kind of...):

antibody (any of a large variety of proteins normally present in the body or produced in response to an antigen which it neutralizes, thus producing an immune response)

Holonyms ("opsonin" is a substance of...):

blood serum; serum (an amber, watery fluid, rich in proteins, that separates out when blood coagulates)

 Context examples 

Adhesive glycoprotein found in blood (as an opsonin and platelet aggregation factor), connective tissue (as a collagen crosslinker), and bound to cell surfaces (as a cell adhesion protein).

(Fibronectin, NIH CRISP Thesaurus)