downregulation

/D AW1 N R EH0 G Y AH0 L EY1 SH AH0 N/
noun
  1. 1

    The suppression of a response to a stimulus

  2. 2

    The process, in the regulation of gene expression, in which the number, or activity of receptors decreases in order to decrease sensitivity

Source: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/downregulation