noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   An enzyme that "snips" pieces off a longer protein that is embedded in the cell membrane.
2. 2
   a set of enzymes believed to snip pieces off a longer protein producing fragments of amyloid protein that bunch up and create amyloid protein plaques in brain tissue (the pathological hallmark of Alzheimer's) wordnet

Etymology

From secrete + -ase.

Related phrases

cell membrane

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.