Celfusie

Celfusie is the process by which two or more cells merge to form a single cell with shared cytoplasm, often resulting in a multinucleated structure known as a syncytium. The term is used in Dutch-language biology to describe cell fusion events that occur during development, tissue homeostasis, and certain diseases.

Fusion is driven by specialized fusogenic proteins and membrane remodeling processes. In normal development, proteins such as myomaker and myomixer drive fusion of myoblasts to form multinucleated muscle fibers, while placental trophoblasts fuse to form the syncytiotrophoblast layer via retroviral-derived fusogens such as syncytins. Viral and chemical agents can also induce fusion by introducing envelope proteins or triggering membrane perturbations, which is a basis for certain experiments and viral pathologies.

Physiological examples of celfusie include skeletal muscle formation, where myoblasts fuse to create long multinucleated fibers; the placenta, where cytotrophoblasts merge to form the syncytiotrophoblast; and osteoclast formation, where mononuclear precursors fuse to generate multinucleated cells involved in bone resorption. Pathological or abnormal fusion events can contribute to disease, such as virus-induced syncytia in infections or cancer cell fusion that may enhance genetic diversity and metastatic potential. Giant cells observed in granulomatous conditions can also arise from fusion of mononuclear cells.

In biotechnology and medicine, cell fusion is used to create hybrid cells for research and therapeutic purposes, including hybridoma technology for monoclonal antibody production and various methods to induce fusion such as polyethylene glycol treatment or fusogenic viral vectors.

See also: cell fusion, syncytium, fusogens.