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Excerpt from www.sciencedaily.com
In a new review paper, Carlo Maley and Arizona State University colleagues describe cell-in-cell phenomena in which one cell engulfs and sometimes consumes another. The study shows that cases of this behavior, including cell cannibalism, are widespread across the tree of life.
The findings challenge the common perception that cell-in-cell events are largely restricted to cancer cells. Rather, these events appear to be common across diverse organisms, from single-celled amoebas to complex multicellular animals.
The widespread occurrence of such interactions in non-cancer cells suggests that these events are not inherently “selfish” or “cancerous” behaviors. Rather, the researchers propose that cell-in-cell phenomena may play crucial roles in normal development, homeostasis and stress response across a wide range of organisms.
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