Miettinen, T.P., Caldez, M.J., Kaldis, P. and Björklund, M. (2017), Cell size control – a mechanism for maintaining fitness and function. BioEssays, 39: 1700058. doi:10.1002/bies.201700058
Abstract:
The maintenance of cell size homeostasis has been studied for years in different cellular systems. With the focus on ‘what regulates cell size’, the question ‘why cell size needs to be maintained’ has been largely overlooked. Recent evidence indicates that animal cells exhibit nonlinear cell size dependent growth rates and mitochondrial metabolism, which are maximal in intermediate sized cells within each cell population. Increases in intracellular distances and changes in the relative cell surface area impose biophysical limitations on cells, which can explain why growth and metabolic rates are maximal in a specific cell size range. Consistently, aberrant increases in cell size, for example through polyploidy, are typically disadvantageous to cellular metabolism, fitness and functionality. Accordingly, cellular hypertrophy can potentially predispose to or worsen metabolic diseases. We propose that cell size control may have emerged as a guardian of cellular fitness and metabolic activity.
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Funding Info:
Biomedical Research Council of A*STAR (Agency for Science, Technology and Research), Singapore
Wellcome Trust. Grant Number: 110275/Z/15/Z
Description:
"This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: [Miettinen, T.P., Caldez, M.J., Kaldis, P. and Björklund, M. (2017), Cell size control – a mechanism for maintaining fitness and function. BioEssays, 39: 1700058], which has been published in final form at [doi:10.1002/bies.201700058]. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions."