Frequency and distribution of binucleate cells in oral epithelium of several species of laboratory rodents.
Keratinocytes in certain regions of rodent oral epithelium have a tendency to form a peculiar type of binucleate cell. The nuclei, in contrast to those in binucleate cells in most other tissues, are closely apposed with a flat interface, tetraploid and of approx. equal size. Binucleate cells were absent from the oral epithelium of several unrelated non-rodent mammalian species, but they occurred in descending order of frequency in guinea pig, rat, hamster and mouse; they were in epithelia of the lining mucosa, but absent from epithelia of the masticatory mucosa. In buccal epithelium of the rat, they constituted 2.5 per cent of the basal cells and 8.2 per cent of the lower spinous cells. This frequency was maintained in the succeeding cell layers. Regions of stimulated epithelium in zinc-deficient rats showed a four-fold increase over controls in frequency in the germinative cell layers and persistently higher frequency in succeeding layers, including in parakeratin. The mode of formation of the cells is unknown, but it was not associated with a lag in cytoplasmic division.
Ibrahim
J
J
Gerson
S J
SJ
Meyer
J
J
D000818:Animals; D002452:Cell Count; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000166:cytology*; D002610:Cheek; D006224:Cricetinae; D000078404:Epidermal Cells; D004847:Epithelial Cells; D006168:Guinea Pigs; D007633:Keratins; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008940:Mitotic Index; D009061:Mouth Mucosa / Q000166:cytology* / Q000473:pathology; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D015032:Zinc / Q000172:deficiency
D007633:Keratins; D015032:Zinc