cytokine

cytokine definition - medical

cy·to·kine (sīˈtə-kīnˌ)

noun
Any of several nonantibody proteins, such as lymphokines, that are released by a cell population on contact with a specific antigen and act as intercellular mediators, as in the generation of an immune response.

The American Heritage® Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Comments
Improve this definition.
Do you have more to add? Share your linguistic knowledge or observation.
/Register to save your comments.