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cofactor

noun

  1. a non-protein chemical compound or metallic ion that is required for a protein's biological activity to happen
L227325 on Wikidata ↗

Wiktionary

noun

Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ḱe? Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm Proto-Italic *kom Proto-Italic *kom- Latin con- Latin co-der. English co- English factor English cofactor From co- + factor.

  1. A contributing factor.

    Although many believe HTLV-III plays a primary role in the development of AIDS, it is still unresolved how the virus works and what cofactors, if any, play a role.

  2. A substance, especially a coenzyme or a metal, that must be present for an enzyme to function.
  3. A molecule that binds to and regulates the activity of a protein.
  4. The result of a number being divided by one of its factors.
  5. The signed determinant of the submatrix produced by removing the row and column containing a specified element; primarily used in the recursive definition and calculation of the determinant of a matrix.