autocrine
Technical term in medicine and biology describing a mode of cell signaling where a cell secretes a substance that acts on itself.
Autocrine signaling is a mechanism by which a cell regulates itself through factors it releases itself.
Paracrine signaling acts on nearby cells, while autocrine (自己分泌) acts on the same cell that secretes the signal.
Endocrine signaling involves hormones traveling through the bloodstream to distant target cells, unlike the local self-targeting of autocrine.
Compound of 自己 (self) and 分泌 (secretion), directly corresponding to the English term 'autocrine' (auto- + -crine).