Library / English Dictionary

ACTIVATOR

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

(biology) any agency bringing about activation; a molecule that increases the activity of an enzyme or a protein that increases the production of a gene product in DNA transcription

Classified under:

Nouns denoting substances

Hypernyms ("activator" is a kind of...):

substance (the real physical matter of which a person or thing consists)

Domain category:

biological science; biology (the science that studies living organisms)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "activator"):

activating agent ((mineral extraction) a surface-active chemical used in flotation process to increase the attraction to a specific mineral)

accelerator; catalyst ((chemistry) a substance that initiates or accelerates a chemical reaction without itself being affected)

sensitiser; sensitizer ((chemistry) a substance other than a catalyst that facilitates the start of a catalytic reaction)

Antonym:

inhibitor (a substance that retards or stops an activity)

Derivation:

activate (make active or more active)

Credits

 Context examples: 

This gene plays a role both as an activator and repressor of transcription.

(MYBBP1A Gene, NCI Thesaurus)

NF-kB is a heterodimer complex of two DNA-binding subunits from two families of ubiquitous, inducible, nuclear transcription activators involved in cytokine-induced activation of gene expression.

(NF-kB, NCI Thesaurus)

Ubiquitous, inducible, nuclear transcriptional activator that binds to enhancer elements in many different cell types and is activated by pathogenic stimuli.

(NF-kB, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)

This suggests that other co-activators might also have specific repressors, adding another layer of combinatorial complexity in transcriptional regulation.

(PGC1a Regulation Pathway, NCI Thesaurus/BIOCARTA)

This allele, which encodes E3 SUMO-protein ligase PIAS3 protein, plays a role in both signal transducer and activator of transcription family- and steroid hormone-mediated signal transduction.

(PIAS3 wt Allele, NCI Thesaurus)

The determination of the amount of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 present in a sample.

(Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor-1 Measurement, NCI Thesaurus)

A measurement of the plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 antigen in a biological specimen.

(Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor-1 Antigen Measurement, NCI Thesaurus/CDISC)

A measurement of the plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 in a biological specimen.

(Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor-1 Measurement, NCI Thesaurus/CDISC)

This allele, which encodes tissue-type plasminogen activator protein, is involved in the regulation of plasmin-mediated proteolysis via the conversion of the proenzyme plasminogen to plasmin.

(PLAT wt Allele, NCI Thesaurus)

This allele, which encodes urokinase-type plasminogen activator protein, plays a role in the degradation of the extracellular matrix via activation of plasminogen.

(PLAU wt Allele, NCI Thesaurus)