Medical Definition of U protein
1.
Hypothetical protein thought to regulate the transition of cells from G0 to G1 phase of the cell cycle and thus inevitably into S phase. The idea would be that the concentration of this unstable (u) protein would have to exceed a threshold level for triggering progression through the cycle and that this would only happen if the cell had adequate access to growth factors or to nutrients.
Synonym: trigger protein.
This entry appears with permission from the Dictionary of Cell and Molecular Biology
(11 Mar 2008)
Lexicographical Neighbors of U Protein
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