cytosol

American  

[sahy-tuh-sawl, -sol] / ˈsaɪ təˌsɔl, -ˌsɒl /

noun

Cell Biology.

1. the water-soluble components of cell cytoplasm, constituting the fluid portion that remains after removal of the organelles and other intracellular structures.

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cytosol British  

/ ˈsaɪtəʊˌsɒl /

noun

1. the solution of proteins and metabolites inside a biological cell, in which the organelles are suspended

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cytosol Scientific  

/ sī′tə-sôl′,-sŏl′ /

1. The fluid component of cytoplasm, containing the insoluble, suspended cytoplasmic components. In prokaryotes, all chemical reactions take place in the cytosol. In eukaryotes, the cytosol surrounds the organelles.

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Other Word Forms

• cytosolic
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of cytosol

1965–70; cyto- + sol(ution), on the model of hydrosol, etc.

Compare meaning

How does cytosol compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• cytosol vs. cytoplasm

Example Sentences

Next, the cytosolic DNA activates an antiviral alarm system -- the cGAS-STING pathway -- since our cells are adapted to flag any DNA in the cytosol as foreign to protect us against viral infections.

From Science Daily • May 15, 2024

First, the lack of functional ARID1A leads to escape of DNA into the cytosol.

From Science Daily • May 15, 2024

In the cytosol, the protein/crRNA complex targets complementary RNAs and degrades them with unprecedented precision.

From Science Daily • Apr. 12, 2024

These properties are fundamental to the survival of plants as they mediate water and nutrient uptake, govern the distribution of solutes through plants, remove toxins from the cytosol, and recycle valuable sugars.

From Science Daily • Dec. 4, 2023

The RNA copy of a gene then moved from the nucleus to the cytosol, where its message was decoded to build a protein.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee