Definition of "phospholipase" [phospholipase]

• Any of several enzymes that hydrolyze specific ester bonds in phospholipids. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "In non-chordate inverebrates, opsin is linked via the adaptor protein to an enzyme called phospholipase C, and in chordates and vertebrates, it is linked to a phosphodiesterase enzyme."
• "But in the new study, the researchers found that after an average of 13 stings a week, beekeepers quickly desensitise to the bees 'attacks, which delivers a large dose of several venoms, including a membrane-busting protein called phospholipase A."
• "Essential fatty acids and phospholipase A2 in autistic spectrum disorders."