endosome

noun

en·​do·​some ˈen-də-ˌsōm 

: a vesicle formed by the invagination and pinching off of the cell membrane during endocytosis

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

In response, the cell membrane folds around the virus, wrapping it in a pocket called an endosome. —K. N. Smith, Discover Magazine, 3 June 2015

The endosome then opens up to allow the virus into the cell. —K. N. Smith, Discover Magazine, 3 June 2015

Researchers think that these drugs prevent the viral envelope from fusing with the endosome, which means that the virus can’t release its RNA into the cell. —K. N. Smith, Discover Magazine, 3 June 2015

Once a bad actor is absorbed, these cells have what can best be described as a cellular garbage disposal, called an endosome, that normally shuts the infectious agent down. —Brenda Goodman, CNN, 6 Apr. 2022

Then it is engulfed in a hollow bubble called an endosome. —Megan Scudellari, Scientific American, 11 Feb. 2022

Although there may be some merit to the argument, recall that SARS-CoV, the virus responsible for the SARS epidemic, also enters cells via the endosome, not by fusion. —William A. Haseltine, Forbes, 28 Jan. 2022

On the left hand side lies a separate but interacting pathway that begins in the endosome. —William A. Haseltine, Forbes, 22 Sep. 2021

Chloroquine reduces the acidity in endosomes, compartments that cells use to ingest material from the outside and that coronaviruses can use instead of the ACE2 receptor to enter a cell. —Kai Kupferschmidt, Science | AAAS, 2 Apr. 2020

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Word History

First Known Use

1887, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

endosome

noun

en·​do·​some ˈen-də-ˌsōm 

1

: a conspicuous body other than a chromatin granule that occurs within the nuclear membrane of a vesicular protozoan nucleus and is either a karyosome or a nucleolus

2

: a vesicle formed by the invagination and pinching off of the cell membrane during endocytosis