Hepatic polyploidy and liver growth control.
The onset of cellular polyploidy is recognized in all differentiated mammalian tissues. Polyploidy has been noted frequently in the normal liver, as well as in pathophysiological states of the liver. As insights into the significance of polyploidy accumulate gradually, it is becoming clear that cells belonging to high ploidy classes exhibit advancement toward terminal differentiation and cellular senescence with greater probabilities of apoptosis. Involvement of specific genetic abnormalities, such as impaired DNA repair, may lead to hepatocellular polyploidy. Working models indicate that extensive polyploidy could lead to organ failure, as well as to oncogenesis with activation of precancerous cell clones.
Marion Bessin Liver Research Center, and Department of Medicine, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York 10461, USA. sanjvgupta@pol.net
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D000818:Animals; D002455:Cell Division / Q000502:physiology*; D002467:Cell Nucleus; D016922:Cellular Senescence; D004260:DNA Repair / Q000235:genetics; D022781:Hepatocytes / Q000378:metabolism; D008099:Liver / Q000502:physiology*; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism; D008115:Liver Regeneration; D051379:Mice; D011123:Polyploidy; D051381:Rats; D020332:Rats, Inbred LEC