cytochrome c
- noun
- /ˈsaɪtəˌkroʊm si/
- Specialized
:
citocromo c
Examples
-
Cytochrome c is normally safely tucked away in the mitochondria, doing its vital job of passing electrons down the mitochondrial respiratory chain.
Academic text (2001) -
But Wang demonstrated that if a mitochondrion is punctured, cytochrome c is released into the cytoplasm, where it activates the deadly caspases.
Academic text (2001) -
During cellular respiration, cytochrome c plays a critical role in transferring energy between complexes in the mitochondrial respiratory chain.
-
In healthy cells, cytochrome c is usually located within the mitochondria, but it is released into the cytoplasm during apoptosis.
-
Researchers found that the levels of cytochrome c increase significantly when cells are exposed to oxidative stress.
Surface Forms
Morphology
cytochrome + c
The form is compositionally transparent in that it names a subtype: 'cytochrome' (an electron-transport hemoprotein) plus the letter label 'c' indicates a specific variety, so a learner who knows both constituents can infer it is a particular cytochrome protein involved in electron transport. However, precise properties (mitochondrial localization, high abundance, and detailed role in cellular respiration) require specialist biological knowledge and are not fully predictable from the label alone, so full understanding goes beyond casual compositional inference.
Etymology
Cytochrome c comes from old Greek words: cyto meaning 'cell' and chrome meaning 'color', and the c is a simple label for this type. Scientists first saw the protein's color and found it in tiny parts of cells that move energy, so the name gives a clear image of a small colored 'cell' helper that carries energy.
