Opsonises

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Marks a bacterium or other particle with antibodies or complement proteins so that white blood cells can recognize and devour it
2. Coats a microbe or foreign cell with proteins that make it easier for phagocytes to bind to and consume
3. Prepares a pathogen for destruction by coating its surface with molecules that white blood cells readily engulf

Etymology: "Opsonises" is the third-person singular present form of "opsonise", a verb meaning to coat a microbe or other particle so that immune cells can more readily engulf it. The base verb is built on the ancient Greek "opsōnein", meaning "to buy provisions" or "to purchase food", from "opson", "cooked food, relish", which was related to "opson", a dish eaten with bread. The Greek sense of buying tasty extras for a meal was reshaped in modern biology, where the coating substance was named for what it seemed to do: prepare its target for a meal by immune cells.

Synonyms: opsonize