nonproliferative

Nonproliferative is an adjective used in biology and medicine to describe processes, tissues, or lesions in which cell division or growth is limited or does not occur. In cell biology, nonproliferative cells are those that have exited the cell cycle and do not routinely divide, also called post-mitotic. Examples include most neurons, mature cardiac myocytes, and many lens epithelial cells. Some cells are quiescent (in G0) but can re-enter the cell cycle under certain conditions, whereas true nonproliferative or terminally differentiated cells rarely divide again.

In pathology and clinical medicine, nonproliferative describes lesions or disease stages that lack ongoing cell growth or neovascularization. This is often contrasted with proliferative forms, where tissue growth, remodeling, or new vessel formation is a hallmark. Nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy, for instance, features microaneurysms, hemorrhages, and edema without neovascularization, which defines the proliferative stage. In breast pathology, nonproliferative breast disease refers to benign changes such as cysts or fibrosis without epithelial proliferation, whereas proliferative lesions show increased epithelial cells and potential risk features. In nephrology and other fields, nonproliferative categories describe diseases with inflammation or injury that does not primarily involve cell multiplication.

Overall, the term conveys a relative lack of new cell growth or division, with the precise meaning varying by tissue, context, and disease mechanism.