Opsonising

Part of speech: verb, adjective

Definitions

1. Marking a microbe or particle with antibodies or complement proteins so that immune cells can more readily engulf and destroy it
2. Preparing a bacterium or other foreign body by coating it with substances that enhance its uptake by phagocytic white blood cells
3. Making a pathogen easier for macrophages and neutrophils to swallow by binding it with specific proteins that act as tags

Etymology: Ancient Greek "opsōnein" meant "to buy provisions" or "to cater," and it was built on "opson," a word for cooked food or relish eaten with bread. The English word takes its shape from that Greek root through the scientific term "opsonin." In medicine, opsonin is a substance in blood serum that coats bacteria so that white blood cells can more readily engulf them. The metaphor is a kitchen one: the invader is seasoned so the immune cell can take it in. Opsonising is the -ing form of the verb "opsonise," naming the process of applying that coating.