Polyploidy is a state where a cell contains more copies of the genetic material than the usual "diploid" cell, which contains two copies. Polyploidy often occurs in human diseases and cancers, and its effect on cell fate was unclear. Now, however, researchers from Japan have shown that polyploidy can be a double-edged sword when it comes to cancer and its treatment.
In a study published this month in Cell Death Discovery , researchers from Osaka University have revealed that polyploidy is closely linked to the accumulation of damage to the genetic material within the cell, while also allowing those cells to tolerate higher levels of this DNA damage. Polyploidization can occur naturally in organs such as the liver, where it can be an advantage, allowing liver cells to tolerate high levels of exposure to the toxic molecules processed by the liver as part of its function. However, this polyploidy can also be an origin of carcinogenesis, and these cancers are frequently resistant to anti-cancer drugs.
Using a human liver cell line, the team showed that the occurrence of polyploidy did not always lead to the process called "senescence", by which cells stop dividing. The presence of DNA damage caused difficulties when cells divided, thus increasing the likelihood of mistakes arising and polyploidization developing. At the same time, the presence of polyploidization increased the amount of DNA damage that occurred, because of the stress the extra genomic material placed on the proce.
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