Researchers discovered the size of our cells read more at here www.spinonews.com/index.php/item/1221-researchers-discovered-the-size-of-our-cells

Research from the University of Dundee has discovered that cells of average size are the Olympic athletes of the cellular world, performing better than those which are too big or too small.

When cells and tissue are observed, the size of the cells is one of the most obvious features. However, while cells are smaller in general, cell size varies from one cell type to another.

It has been recognized for more than one hundred years that metabolic activity declines with increasing organismal size, a process called metabolic allometry.

In a new study, the Dundee researchers studied metabolic allometry at the cellular level, focusing on mitochondria, the power generators of the cell, which are involved in producing energy and cellular building blocks necessary for growth.

Dr. Teemu Miettinen, a member of the research team, said, Mitochondria are key organelles setting the overall metabolic activity of cells. What we find is that there is a big difference between the number of mitochondria and how active they are.

While the mitochondrial amount increases with cell size, there is a decline in mitochondrial activity with increasing cell size. This appears to limit cells from growing too large.

It appears there is a substantial benefit for cells from growing sufficiently, but not too large. The mitochondria in intermediate sized cells are more active, helping cells to perform better.

This provides cells of intermediate size a fitness advantage. This fitness advantage is probably best illustrated by comparing cells to athletes. Starved or too fat athletes do not perform optimally in sports. The same applies to cells, where those of average size are the peak, Olympic-level performers.

The findings suggest that the maintenance of cell size within certain limits may be important for the survival and reproductive potential of cells and organisms. Cells need to be able to actively adjust their size to maintain their optimal cellular function to maximize the success of the whole organism.

 

Another key implication of this work is that controlling growth and cell size may directly relate to the development of metabolic disease.