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Mitoses and binucleated cells in perinatal human hearts
Virchows Archiv. B, Cell Pathology Including Molecular Pathology
|January 1, 1985
Summary
Human heart cells show increased binucleation during the first year of life. This cellular development, involving two nuclei per cell, occurs before normal heart polyploidization in infants.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular biology
- Cell biology
- Developmental biology
Background:
- Human heart development involves complex cellular processes.
- Polyploidization is a known feature of cardiomyocyte maturation.
- Early cellular changes in the perinatal heart are not fully understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the presence and progression of binucleated cells in the developing human heart.
- To quantify the percentage of binucleated cells in the left and right ventricles during early life.
- To compare the timing of binucleation with normal heart polyploidization.
Main Methods:
- Isolation of cells from formalin-fixed human heart tissue using potash lye.
- Microscopic observation of perinatal and infant heart cells.
- Quantitative analysis of binucleated cells in ventricular walls.
Main Results:
- Binucleated cells were observed in perinatal human hearts.
- The percentage of binucleated cells significantly increased from birth to one year of age.
- Left ventricular walls showed 8.8% binucleation at birth, rising to 56.8% by one year.
- Right ventricular walls showed 11.7% binucleation at birth, increasing to 42.0% by one year.
Conclusions:
- Binucleation is a prominent cellular event in early human heart development.
- This increase in binucleated cells precedes the typical polyploidization process in the heart.
- The findings suggest a distinct developmental pathway for cardiomyocyte maturation involving early binucleation.