contact inhibition

American  

noun

Biology.

1. the cessation of movement, growth, and division in cells that touch each other.

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Etymology

Origin of contact inhibition

First recorded in 1960–65

Example Sentences

In a 2009 study1, they noted that a process in natural anticancer defences called contact inhibition, which prevents cells from dividing when they reach a certain density, occurs at a much lower cell density in naked mole rats.

From Nature

Cancer starts when mutated cells grow uncontrollably; by increasing contact inhibition, hyaluronic acid, which Gorbunova describes as “basically a gooey sugar,” probably keeps these tumor cells from replicating.

From Washington Post

The mechanism may involve contact inhibition, the tendency of cells to stop dividing when squeezed tightly by other cells.

From Washington Post

The coupling of cells by E-cadherin results in the transmission of antigrowth signals; this is one of the mechanisms for the phenomenon known as contact inhibition, where cells that touch one another do not grow any further.

From Scientific American

This response — called contact inhibition — stops cells from multiplying out of control.

From New York Times