Bleb (cell biology)

In cell biology, a bleb (or snout) is a bulge of the plasma membrane of a cell, characterized by a spherical, "blister-like", bulky morphology. It is characterized by the decoupling of the cytoskeleton from the plasma membrane, degrading the internal structure of the cell, allowing the flexibility required for the cell to separate into individual bulges or pockets of the intercellular matrix. Most commonly, blebs are seen in apoptosis (programmed cell death) but are also seen in other non-apoptotic functions, including apocrine secretion (cell secretion by disintegration of part of a cell). Blebbing, or zeiosis, is the formation of blebs.