Pinocytosis

Pinocytosis
A cellular process that permits the active transport of fluid from outside the cell through the membrane surrounding the cell into the inside of the cell. In pinocytosis, tiny incuppings called caveolae (little caves) in the surface of the cell close and then pinch off to form pinosomes, little fluid-filled bubbles, that are free within the cytoplasm of the cell.
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The cellular process of actively engulfing liquid, a phenomenon in which minute incuppings or invaginations are formed in the surface of the cell membrane and close to form fluid-filled vesicles; it resembles phagocytosis. [pinocyte + G. -osis, condition]

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pi·no·cy·to·sis .pin-ə-sə-'tō-səs, .pīn-, -.sī- n, pl -to·ses -.sēz the uptake of fluid and dissolved substances by a cell by invagination and pinching off of the cell membrane

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n.
the intake of small droplets of fluid by a cell by cytoplasmic engulfment. It occurs in many white blood cells and in certain kidney and liver cells. Compare phagocytosis.

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pino·cy·to·sis (pin″o-) (pi″no-si-toґsis) [Gr. pinein to drink + cyto- + -osis] the cellular uptake of extracellular fluid and its contents by enclosing them in vesicles derived from the plasma membrane; it serves as a method of transport for macromolecules. Cf. macropinocytosis. pinocytotic adj

Mechanism of pinocytosis of extracellular proteins.


Medical dictionary. 2011.

Look at other dictionaries:

  • pinocytosis — pinocytosis. См. пиноцитоз. (Источник: «Англо русский толковый словарь генетических терминов». Арефьев В.А., Лисовенко Л.А., Москва: Изд во ВНИРО, 1995 г.) …   Молекулярная биология и генетика. Толковый словарь.

  • pinocytosis — from Gk. pinein to drink (see IMBIBE (Cf. imbibe)) …   Etymology dictionary

  • pinocytosis — [pī΄nə sī tō′sis, pin΄əsī tō′sis] n. pl. pinocytoses [pī΄nə sī tō′sēz΄] a type of endocytosis in which the engulfed liquid remains within a separate vacuole pinocytic [pīn΄ōsīt′ik] adj. pinocytotic [pīn΄ōsī tät′ik] …   English World dictionary

  • Pinocytosis — In cellular biology, pinocytosis ( cell drinking , bulk phase pinocytosis , non specific, non adsorptive pinocytosis , fluid endocytosis ) is a form of endocytosis in which small particles are brought into the cell suspended within small vesicles …   Wikipedia

  • pinocytosis — Uptake of fluid filled vesicles into cells (endocytosis). Macro pinocytosis and micro pinocytosis are distinct processes, the latter being energy independent and involving the formation of receptor ligand clusters on the outside of the plasma… …   Dictionary of molecular biology

  • pinocytosis — pinocytotic /pin euh suy tot ik, puy neuh /, adj. /pin euh suy toh sis, puy neuh /, n. Physiol. the transport of fluid into a cell by means of local infoldings by the cell membrane so that a tiny vesicle or sac forms around each droplet, which is …   Universalium

  • pinocytosis — noun (plural pinocytoses) Etymology: New Latin, from Greek pinein to drink + New Latin cyt + osis more at potable Date: 1895 the uptake of fluid and dissolved substances by a cell by invagination and pinching off of the cell membrane •… …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • pinocytosis — n. [Gr. pino, drink; kytos, container] Ingestion or absorption of surrounding fluids by a cell, that forms a vesicle by incupping of the surface membrane …   Dictionary of invertebrate zoology

  • pinocytosis — (pi no si to sis) The endocytotic process in which a cell encloses a small amount of the surrounding liquid and its solutes in tiny pinocytotic vesicles or pinosomes …   Dictionary of microbiology

  • pinocytosis — noun A form of endocytosis in which material enters a cell through its membrane and is incorporated in vesicles for digestion …   Wiktionary

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