pluripotent

American  

[ploor-uh-poht-nt] / ˌplʊər əˈpoʊt nt /

adjective

Biology.

1. (of a cell) capable of developing into any type of cell or tissue except those that form a placenta or embryo.

   pluripotent stem cells.

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pluripotent British  

/ ˌplʊrɪˈpəʊtənt /

adjective

1. biology capable of differentiating into different types of body cell

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Other Word Forms

• pluripotency noun

Etymology

Origin of pluripotent

First recorded in 1915–20; from Latin plūr- (stem of plūs “plus”) + English potent ¹

Example Sentences

“These results provide a failure to confirm the existence of pluripotent VSELs,” the paper read.

From Slate • Mar. 30, 2026

Once you give a firm that power, you are disarming everyone else and giving them this pluripotent doomsday device that they can use to take away value and shift things around and screw you over.

From Slate • Oct. 13, 2025

The compound also performed well in human oligodendrocytes -- cells responsible for producing myelin -- derived from induced pluripotent stem cells, suggesting the results could translate effectively from animal studies to human disease.

From Science Daily • Oct. 11, 2025

Others may be important for keeping human stem cells "pluripotent", or able to become any one of many different types of human cell.

From Salon • Jun. 1, 2025

Using UniMat, the team successfully produced kidney organoids featuring nephron structures and blood vessels similar to those found in human kidneys from human-induced pluripotent stem cells, achieving consistent quality and greatly improving production efficiency.

From Science Daily • Nov. 25, 2024