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phospholipase

phospholipase

1 9.1
A substance that breaks down fats in cell membranes
  • noun
  • /ˌfɑsfoʊˈlɪpeɪs/
  • Specialized
: fosfolipasa
  • They include drugs targeted at HIV protease for the treatment of AIDS, a drug targeted at influenza virus neuraminidase to prevent flu, and a drug targeted at a phospholipase.
  • phospholipase A2
  • cytosolic phospholipase

Examples

  • Moreover, C. ulcerans and C. pseudotuberculosis may produce phospholipase D, the major virulence factor involved in caseous lymphadenitis, which is a disease that mainly affects sheep, goats, and horses (3).

    Academic text (2014)
  • Notably, mutations in the phospholipase PNPLA3 result in hepatic steatosis.

    Blog text (27)
  • Sokolowska M, Stefanska J, Wodz-Naskiewicz K, Cieslak M, Pawliczak R. 2010. Cytosolic phospholipase A2 group.

    Academic text (2016)
  • The enzyme phospholipase breaks down phospholipids in cell membranes, facilitating various cellular processes.

  • Researchers discovered that phospholipase A2 plays a crucial role in inflammation by hydrolyzing the phospholipids in membranes.

  • During the study, scientists measured the activity of phospholipase to assess its impact on fat metabolism in cells.

Surface Forms

phospholipase singular

Morphology

phospholipase = lipase (semi-transparent) = phospho + lip + ase

The word is formed by adding the combining form 'phospho-' (relating to phosphate or phospholipids) to the enzyme name 'lipase'; this is clear to learners with some scientific vocabulary but may be opaque to a general B1 learner.

Etymology

Phospholipase comes from phospho- 'with phosphate' and lipase 'an enzyme that breaks fats', with lip- like in lipid. So a phospholipase is an enzyme that breaks the fat-like molecules called phospholipids found in cell membranes.