• Question: If the nucleus in a phagocyte is lobed, why isn't every cell's nucleus lobed? Surely there would be no negative effects if this were the case?

    Asked by to Bethany, Hannah, Keith, Peter, Ramya on 23 Jun 2014. This question was also asked by .
    • Photo: Peter Elliott

      Peter Elliott answered on 23 Jun 2014:

      I spoke to a colleague who know a lot more about this stuff then I do and she said that the reason the nucleus is lobed is to help with the function of the cell.

      A phagocyte is a type of white blood cell whose primary role is to engulf foreign materials, bacteria especially, and neutralise them. They suggest that a multi-lobed nucleus is less rigid than a typical circular one. This means it is easy for the cell to engulf the bacteria without causing stress on the nucleus. Also they suggested that these types of cells can pass through other cells much more easily.
      I guess other cells aren’t like that as they don’t really need to have this property and prefer to be more stable.

      A very good question.

    • Photo: Hannah Tanner

      Hannah Tanner answered on 23 Jun 2014:

      I have never even though about why this should be. I looked it up and found a scientific paper describing what is known about why nuclei are the shape they are. The first point they make is: “The nucleus is one of the most prominent cellular organelles, yet surprisingly little is known about how it is formed, what determines its shape and what defines its size.”
      http://jcs.biologists.org/content/122/10/1477.full

      It would appear nuclear shape is important but no-one is really sure exactly why yet. Some people suggest the lobed nucleus might allow the phagocyte to move more easily to where it needs to be.

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