dedifferentiate

Thân thiện

A skin cell begins to dedifferentiate in a laboratory culture.

Definition

1. Verb:
   • To lose specialization in form or function: In biology, to dedifferentiate means for a mature, specialized cell to revert to a less specialized, more primitive state, often as a step towards becoming a different type of cell.

Usage

• The verb "dedifferentiate" is used primarily in biological and medical contexts to describe a cellular process. It is typically used intransitively (the cell dedifferentiates) or in the passive voice (the tissue was dedifferentiated).

Examples

• Verb:
  • When a salamander loses a limb, the cells at the injury site dedifferentiate to form a blastema.
  • In some plant tissues, mature cells can dedifferentiate and then redifferentiate into a new cell type.
  • The cancerous cells appeared to dedifferentiate, losing their original identifying features.

Advanced Usage

• "Dedifferentiating" (present participle/adjective): Describing the ongoing process or cells that are undergoing this change.
  • Researchers observed the dedifferentiating cells under the microscope.
• Conceptual Extension: While strictly biological, the term can be used metaphorically in other fields to describe a return to a simpler, less defined state.
  • Critics argued that the new policy caused the agency's roles to dedifferentiate, creating confusion.

Variants and Related Words

• Dedifferentiation (noun): The process or result of dedifferentiating.
  • Limb regeneration in newts involves the dedifferentiation of mature cells.
• Redifferentiate (verb): The subsequent process where dedifferentiated cells become specialized again.
  • After forming the blastema, the cells will redifferentiate into bone, muscle, and skin.

Synonyms

• Revert (to a less specialized state)
• Despecialize

Antonyms

• Differentiate (to become specialized)
• Specialize

Học thuật

Verb

1. lose specialization in form or function