dedifferentiate

[dee-dif-uh-ren-shee-eyt]

verb (used without object)

Biology.

dedifferentiated, dedifferentiating 

1. to undergo dedifferentiation.

Word History and Origins

Origin of dedifferentiate¹

First recorded in 1915–20; back formation from dedifferentiation

Example Sentences

Following injury, mature differentiated cells called club cells can dedifferentiate and behave as facultative stem cells12,13.

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But cancer cells “dedifferentiate,” abandoning their assigned roles and pursuing a course beneficial only to themselves.

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Cells acquire epigenetic markers as they differentiate, and they maintain some of them when they dedifferentiate into iPS cells.

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In zebra fish the structure of the muscle fiber disintegrates as the cells dedifferentiate.

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In human hearts, too, Dr. Murry said, the muscle cells dedifferentiate after injury and double up their DNA, a necessary precursor to cell division.

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