proto-oncogene
proto-oncogene noun: a gene, promoting the specialization and division of normal cells, that could become an oncogene due to mutation.
Noun
proto-oncogene (plural proto-oncogenes)
- A gene, promoting the specialization and division of normal cells, that could become an oncogene due to mutation.
- Typically, proto-oncogenes are normal cellular genes that, when activated by mutation or overexpression, promote cancer.2010, Siddhartha Mukherjee, The Emperor of All Maladies, Fourth Estate (2011), page 534
Forms of proto-oncogene
| plural | proto-oncogenes |
|---|---|
| alternative form | protooncogene |
Origin of proto-oncogene
From proto- + oncogene.
Words formed from proto-oncogene
Questions about proto-oncogene
- What does proto-oncogene mean?
- Proto-oncogene means a gene, promoting the specialization and division of normal cells, that could become an oncogene due to mutation.
- What part of speech is proto-oncogene?
- Proto-oncogene is a noun.
- What is the plural of proto-oncogene?
- The plural of proto-oncogene is proto-oncogenes.
Words near proto-oncogene in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: proto-oncogene (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this entry: “proto-oncogene.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/proto-oncogene. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.