Health Dictionary
Reliable, easy-to-read patient information on common medical conditions — written in plain language, free of jargon, and grounded in current evidence. Browse the most frequent diagnoses, understand what they mean for everyday life, and learn which steps and questions help you have a focused conversation with your doctor.
Host tropism
Introduction
Host tropism is the name given a process of tropism that determines which cells can become infected by any given pathogen. Various factors determine the ability of a pathogen to infect a particular cell. Viruses, for example, must bind to specific cell surface receptors to enter a cell. If a cell does not express these receptors then the virus cannot normally infect it.
de: Tropismus (Virologie)