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cystathionine

cystathionine

1 9.9
A substance made when the body breaks down the protein building blocks methionine and cysteine
  • noun
  • /ˌsɪstəˈθaɪəˌniːn/
  • Specialized
: cistationina
  • Researchers measured cystathionine concentrations in the blood samples of the study participants.

Examples

  • A deficiency in certain enzymes can lead to the accumulation of cystathionine in the body.

  • The doctor explained that high cystathionine levels could indicate a metabolic disorder.

  • Cystathionine is crucial for the body's metabolism.

  • The levels of cystathionine can indicate metabolic disorders.

  • The doctor explained that high cystathionine levels could indicate a metabolic disorder.

  • Researchers measured cystathionine concentrations in the blood samples of the study participants.

  • A deficiency in certain enzymes can lead to the accumulation of cystathionine in the body.

Surface Forms

cystathionine singular

Morphology

cystathionine = cyst + thion + ine

A specialized chemical name formed from technical combining forms (e.g., 'cyst-' and 'thio-') and the amino-acid suffix '-ine', which is not derivable by an average B1 learner from the component meanings.

Etymology

Cystathionine comes from parts of older chemical names: cysteine, a small sulfur amino acid, thio- meaning 'sulfur', and the ending -ine which marks amino acids. So, cystathionine is an amino acid related to cysteine and methionine and contains sulfur, which explains its role in the body's processing of these amino acids.