Polarised Asymmetric Inheritance of Accumulated Protein Damage in Higher Eukaryotes
2006

Asymmetric Inheritance of Protein Damage in Cell Division

publication Evidence: high

Author Information

Author(s): Maria Rujano, Harm Kampinga

Hypothesis

Can cells with accumulated damage undergo cell division and complete mitosis?

Conclusion

Cells with accumulated protein damage can still divide and complete mitosis, with one daughter cell inheriting the damage and the other remaining damage-free.

Supporting Evidence

  • Cells with severe levels of damage were unable to progress through mitosis.
  • In single-aggresome–containing cells, only one daughter cell inherited the damage.
  • Time-lapse imaging confirmed that cells with aggresomes take longer to complete mitosis than normal cells.
  • Stem cells did not contain aggresomes, while differentiated cells did.
  • In Drosophila, the neuroblast daughter cell inherited the aggresome, resulting in a damage-free GMC.

Takeaway

Cells can split into two, and one of them can take all the junk while the other stays clean.

Methodology

The researchers investigated multiple eukaryotic cell systems, including human and hamster cells, and used time-lapse imaging to observe mitosis.

Limitations

The researchers could not verify their hypothesis in the human model due to the absence of mitotic stem cells.

Participant Demographics

Human patients with neurodegenerative disorder and Drosophila embryos.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1371/journal.pbio.0040446

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