Stress-Induced Polyploid Giant Cancer Cells: Unique Way of Formation and Non-Negligible Characteristics.

Yanwei Song,Qian Huang,Yucui Zhao,Zheng Deng,Ruyi Zhao

doi:10.3389/fonc.2021.724781

Abstract

Polyploidy is a conserved mechanism in cell development and stress responses. Multiple stresses of treatment, including radiation and chemotherapy drugs, can induce the polyploidization of tumor cells. Through endoreplication or cell fusion, diploid tumor cells convert into giant tumor cells with single large nuclei or multiple small nucleuses. Some of the stress-induced colossal cells, which were previously thought to be senescent and have no ability to proliferate, can escape the fate of death by a special way. They can remain alive at least before producing progeny cells through asymmetric cell division, a depolyploidization way named neosis. Those large and danger cells are recognized as polyploid giant cancer cells (PGCCs). Such cells are under suspicion of being highly related to tumor recurrence and metastasis after treatment and can bring new targets for cancer therapy. However, differences in formation mechanisms between PGCCs and well-accepted polyploid cancer cells are largely unknown. In this review, the methods used in different studies to induce polyploid cells are summarized, and several mechanisms of polyploidization are demonstrated. Besides, we discuss some characteristics related to the poor prognosis caused by PGCCs in order to provide readers with a more comprehensive understanding of these huge cells.

Highlights

Even though it is generally recognized that both prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms are mostly diploid, organisms with more than two complete genomes have been widely observed
When most of the stress-induced polyploid cells go to death, some of these cells have been observed to own ability of proliferation, accurately isolating the chromosomes required by diploid tumor cells from the chaotic genome and producing progeny cells through asymmetric cytokinesis, an unusual mechanism of depolyploidization [6]
In order to better present this emerging area of polyploid cancer research for readers, we summarized and discussed possible modes of tumor cell polyploidization under stress, different types of stress measures that lead to the polyploidization of tumor cells, and evidence of several different characteristics of polyploid giant cancer cells (PGCCs)

Summary

Introduction

Even though it is generally recognized that both prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms are mostly diploid, organisms with more than two complete genomes have been widely observed. When most of the stress-induced polyploid cells go to death, some of these cells have been observed to own ability of proliferation, accurately isolating the chromosomes required by diploid tumor cells from the chaotic genome and producing progeny cells through asymmetric cytokinesis, an unusual mechanism of depolyploidization [6]. Since this kind of polyploid tumor cells were observed, they have been described by a variety of terms, with polyploid giant cancer cell (PGCC) being the most accepted [7].

Results

Conclusion