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Glite Dictionary
lymphotoxin

lymphotoxin

1 8.2
A protein made by some white blood cells that helps the body's defence and can kill other cells
  • noun
  • /ˌlɪmfəˈtɒksɪn/
  • Specialized
: linfotoxina
  • Lymphotoxin can destroy target cells as part of various immune system functions.

Examples

  • High levels of lymphotoxin in the body may indicate an active immune response to infections.

  • Lymphotoxin and GM-CSF are other important factors in the development of NKT cells.

    Blog text (11)

  • Lymphotoxin and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) CSF-1

    Academic text (2003)

  • The lymphotoxin produced by lymphocytes plays a crucial role in regulating the immune response.

Surface Forms

lymphotoxin singular
lymphotoxins plural

Morphology

lymphotoxin = lymph + toxin (semi-transparent) = lymph + toxin

Formally a compound of 'lymph' + 'toxin' which signals a toxin related to lymph/lymphocytes, but the term is technical and the linking vowel 'o' and biomedical nuance reduce full guessability for general learners.

Etymology

The word lymphotoxin comes from two parts: lymph meaning 'clear fluid' and toxin meaning 'poison'. So it names a protein made by certain white blood cells that can act like a poison to kill target cells and help control the immune system.