kinin

Noun

kinin (plural kinins)

1. Any of various structurally related polypeptides of the autacoid family, such as bradykinin and kallikrein, that act locally to induce vasodilation and contraction of smooth muscle.
   • The kinin work comes at a time when "there has not been a whole lot of interest in the common cold," Dr. Couch said, adding that he believed scientists had begun to view cold research as "a hopeless area."1987 October 6, Gina Kolata, “Clever Strategy Shows Promise Against Colds”, in The New York Times
   • Indeed, it’s possible to create the full storm of cold symptoms with no cold virus at all, but only a potent cocktail of the so-called inflammatory mediators that the body makes itself[,] among them, cytokines, kinins, prostaglandins and interleukins, powerful little chemical messengers that cause...2010 October 4, Jennifer Ackerman, “How Not to Fight Colds”, in The New York Times