This book gives a current overview on the development, origin, structure, and functions of germline and somatic cell syncytia during embryogenesis and organogenesis. It also reviews pathogen-induced syncytia and the role of syncytial cells in cancer development.
The book covers the following topics:
- germline syncytia, evolution, function and structure;
- syncytia in embryogenesis and development;
- the role of somatic cell fusion in fungi, specialized somatic tissues, host defense and adaptation;
- syncytia induced by viruses and parasites;
- syncytia and circulating hybrid cells in cancer and other pathological conditions;
It also discusses how the genomic adaptations of microorganisms to extreme habitats can prompt the evolution of mononuclear and multinucleate/syncytial cells.
The book offers a fresh outlook on syncytia's role in various processes: embryogenesis, organogenesis, adaptation, host defense, and development of specialized tissues. It highlights the importance of syncytia under physiological and pathological conditions.
Inhaltsverzeichnis
Part I. Germline Syncytia, Evolution, Function, and Structure. - Chapter 1. The Ancient Origin and Function of Germline Cysts. - Chapter 2. Female Germline Cysts in Animals: Evolution and Function. - Chapter 3. Germline and Somatic Cell Syncytia in Insects. - Part II. Syncytia in Embryogenesis and Development. - Chapter 4. Reshaping the Syncytial Drosophila Embryo with Cortical Actin Networks: Four Main Steps of Early Development. - Chapter 5. Cell-Mediated Branch Fusion in the Drosophila Trachea. - Chapter 6. Trophoblast Syncytialization: A Metabolic Crossroads. - Chapter 7. Early Syncytialization of the Ovine Placenta Revisited. - Chapter 8. Syncytia in Utricularia: Origin and Structure. - Part III. Fungal and Somatic Cell Syncytia and Genomic View of Extremophiles as the Ancestral Precursors of Eukaryotic Syncytia. - Chapter 9. Syncytial Assembly Lines: Consequences of Multinucleate Cellular Compartments for Fungal Protein Synthesis. - Chapter 10. Ancestors in The Extreme: A Genomics View of Microbial Diversity in Hypersaline Aquatic Environments. - Chapter 11. Somatic Cell Fusion in Host Defense and Adaptation. - Chapter 12. Osteoclasts at Bone Remodeling: Order from Order. - Chapter 13. Muscle Progenitor Cell Fusion in the Maintenance of Skeletal Muscle. - Part IV. Virus- and Parasite- Induced Syncytia. - Chapter 14. Virus-Induced Cell Fusion and Syncytia Formation. - Chapter 15. HIV-1 Induced Cell-to-Cell Fusion or Syncytium Formation. - Chapter 16. Relevance of the Entry by Fusion at the Cytoplasmic Membrane vs. Fusion After Endocytosis in the HIV and SARS-Cov-2 Infections. - Chapter 17. Mathematical Modeling of Virus-Mediated Syncytia Formation: Past Successes and Future Directions. - Chapter 18. Syncytium Induced by Plant-Parasitic Nematodes. - Part V. Cell Fusion and Syncytia in Cancer. - Chapter 19. Mechanisms of Cell Fusion in Cancer. - Chapter 20. Cell Fusion and Syncytia Formation in Cancer. - Chapter 21. The Hallmarks of Circulating Hybrid Cells.
