multinukleare

Multinukleare, or multinucleate, describes cells that contain more than one nucleus within a single cytoplasm. Multinucleation can arise during development or tissue formation when nuclei divide without accompanying cytoplasmic division (endomitosis or acytokinesis) or when separate cells fuse to form a single cytoplasmic entity (cell fusion).

This condition occurs in a variety of organisms and tissues. In animals, multinucleation is common in skeletal muscle fibers, which form by the fusion of myoblasts to create long syncytial fibers capable of coordinated contraction. Osteoclasts, the bone-resorbing cells, are multinucleated formed by fusion of mononuclear precursors. Megakaryocytes in bone marrow become polyploid and multinucleated as part of platelet production. In plants, certain tissues contain multinucleate cells, and some species have coenocytes or other multinucleated cell types. In fungi and protists, coenocytic species have a single cytoplasm with many nuclei, and plasmodial slime molds form multinucleate stages during feeding.

The presence of multiple nuclei can confer advantages, such as increased cytoplasmic volume, enhanced protein synthesis, and rapid response to stimuli in large cells. Multinucleation also has functional and developmental roles, particularly in specialized tissues like muscle and bone. Pathologically, multinucleated giant cells appear in granulomatous diseases (for example, tuberculosis) and foreign-body reactions, reflecting active cell fusion or macrophage differentiation in immune responses. The term is used across languages and contexts to describe this cellular state.