pyroptosis

P3Y4R1O1P3T1O1S1I1S1

noun

A form of programmed cell death associated with antimicrobial responses during inflammation.

Scrabble 17
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Meanings

nounpyroptosis (uncountable)
  1. uncountablebiologyA form of programmed cell death associated with antimicrobial responses during inflammation.

Origin

Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek πῦρ (pûr, “fire; fever”) + πτῶσῐς (ptôsĭs, “falling”), by analogy with apoptosis. Equivalent to pyro- + ptosis. Coined by Brad T. Cookson and Molly A. Brennan in a 2001 paper in Trends in Microbiology.

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Cite this entry
APA

pyroptosis. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pyroptosis

MLA

“pyroptosis.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pyroptosis. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pyroptosis,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pyroptosis.

Source: pyroptosis on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.