Polyploidization in rat liver: the role of binucleate cells.

Liver cells were isolated from rats undergoing active formation of tetraploid cells and prelabelled in their DNA with 14C thymidine. Autoradiography of the isolated cells showed that binucleate diploid cells, a major component of the parenchymal cell population at this time, are also active in DNA synthesis. These cells probably pass through mitosis and generate mononucleate tetraploid cells, the dominant cell type of mature rat liver, since the frequency of binucleate tetraploid cells is very low at this stage in rat liver development. The biological significance of liver polyploidy is discussed and it is suggested that this lies in enhanced resistance to mutagenesis.