Study establishes the importance of haploid cells

May 25 2018

A new study has found that when the cell replication process exceeds or has less than a pair of chromosome set (a genome), destabilization occurs. It is hoped that the research will enhance our understanding of cancel cell chromosome instability.

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Mammals are comprised of diploid cells, which contain two copies of each chromosome. Severe diseases like cancer can occur as a result of cell property disruption caused by a non-diploid state.

Haploid and tetraploid cells are produced in cancer development and asexual reproduction, which destabilizes chromosomes. Scientists are yet to discover why cells in a non-diploid state experience the same instability.

Researchers from Hokkaido University endeavored to explore what impact adjustments to the cell replication process had by experimenting with human cell lines of various ploidy levels (haploid, diploid and tetraploid).

In their study, the team noted a steady drop in centrosomes (regulators of cell replication that are found in normal cells) in haploid cells, as well as recurring centrosome over-duplication in tetraploid cells.

Each of these occurrences precipitated repeated abnormalities in the cell replication process.

Another important discovery was the team observing an increased number of microtubules (cellular fibers) in tetraploid cells, whilst haploid cells were found to have a smaller amount.

The quantity of fibers can have a considerable influence on centrosome duplication as it can cause over-duplication or centrosome loss. DNA replication also plays a crucial role in cell replication, and this was not affected under any ploidy state.

Incompatibility between centrosome duplication and the DNA replication cycle could be the underlying cause of the instability in non-diploid cells in mammals. Our findings could help understand chromosome instability in cancer cells, which are often in a non-diploid state, and lead to new cancer treatment strategies.”

Ryota Uehara, Hokkaido University

Source:

https://www.alphagalileo.org/en-gb/Item-Display/ItemId/164095?returnurl=https://www.alphagalileo.org/en-gb/Item-Display/ItemId/164095