Subscriber login
Password
Forgot your password?
Library card login
Login with Shibboleth® »
Login with Athens »
Close menu
Oxford Dictionaries Online
The world's most trusted dictionaries
About
Subscriber services
What's new
Contact us
Help
Subscribe now
Already a subscriber or in a subscribing organization?
Login
Dictionary
Other language resources
US English
World English
Dictionary
Better writing
World of words
Puzzles and games
For children and schools
For learners of English
Email
Cite
perforin
(per|forin)
Pronunciation:
/ˈpəːfərɪn/
noun
[
mass noun
]
Biochemistry
a protein, released by killer cells of the immune system, which destroys targeted cells by creating lesions like pores in their membranes.
Origin:
1980s
: from the verb
perforate
+
-in
1
More words in this category
Alcian blue
blot
chaperonin
cortisol
dipeptide
DNA
dopa
essential
invertase
isoenzyme
lactoglobulin
lutein
lysine
methionine
myoglobin
norepinephrine
phenylalanine
phosphorylase
substance P
topoisomer
Nearby Words
perfecto
perfervid
perfidious
perfidy
perfin
perfoliate
perforate
perforation
perforce
perforin
perform
performance
performance art
performance bond
performance poetry
performance testing
performative
performer
performing arts