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Glite Dictionary
🧪 A lab protein ☠️ A toxic protein
phytohaemagglutinin

phytohaemagglutinin

1 9.9
A plant protein that makes blood cells stick together and makes white blood cells divide
  • noun
  • /ˌfaɪtoʊˌhiːməˈɡlʌtɪnɪn/
  • UK
: fitohemaglutinina
  • In the lab, researchers added phytohaemagglutinin to the cell cultures to promote cell division.

Examples

  • The scientist used phytohaemagglutinin as a reagent to study the clumping behavior of blood cells.

  • Other antigens tested for were bovine serum albumin, purified protein derivative, human serum albumin, and phytohaemagglutinin.

    Academic text (1999)

  • During the experiment, phytohaemagglutinin was essential for activating the immune response in the samples.

Synonyms

hemagglutinin
vsphytohaemagglutinin
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A part on some viruses that makes red blood cells clump and helps the virus enter cells

acts as a plant protein used in labs to stimulate cell division

Surface Forms

phytohaemagglutinin singular
phytohaemagglutinins plural
phytohemagglutinins plural
phytohemagglutinin singular

Morphology

phytohaemagglutinin = haemagglutinin (opaque) = phyto + haemagglutinin

The compound is technical and uses specialized combining forms unfamiliar to average learners, so its meaning cannot be derived by a B1 learner.

Etymology

Phytohaemagglutinin breaks into parts: phyto- meaning 'plant', haemo- meaning 'blood', and agglutinin meaning 'to stick together', like 'glue'. So, it is a plant protein that makes blood cells clump, which is why scientists use it in the lab to trigger cell activity.