revertant

[ri-vur-tnt]

noun

1. a gene, organism, or strain that has undergone a back mutation.

adjective

1. of or relating to a gene, organism, or strain that has undergone a back mutation.

Word History and Origins

Origin of revertant¹

1580–90, for an earlier sense; revert + -ant

Example Sentences

These patches, dubbed ‘revertant skin patches’, have normal pigmentation13, which is consistent with the finding by Liu et al. that COL17A1 also plays a key part in the maintenance of skin-pigment stem cells.

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But only about 20% to 30% of people with EB have revertant skin cells, so other groups have taken a more traditional approach.

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The scientists transformed some of these “revertant” cells into iPS cells, then from them grew skin cells called keratinocytes that expressed the type of collagen missing in the patients.

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Using revertant cells in this manner for EB could avoid the risks of gene therapy and “be a little more straightforward,” says study leader Angela Christiano.

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