In general biology or reproductive physiology, a nurse cell is a cell which provides food, helps other cells and provides stability to neighboring cells. The term nurse cell is used in several unrelated ways in different scientific fields.

Human physiology

Nurse cells are specialized

macrophage Macrophages (; abbreviated MPhi, φ, MΦ or MP) are a type of white blood cell of the innate immune system that engulf and digest pathogens, such as cancer cells, microbes, cellular debris and foreign substances, which do not have proteins that ...

s residing in the

bone marrow Bone marrow is a semi-solid biological tissue, tissue found within the Spongy bone, spongy (also known as cancellous) portions of bones. In birds and mammals, bone marrow is the primary site of new blood cell production (or haematopoiesis). It i ...

that assist in the development of

red blood cell Red blood cells (RBCs), referred to as erythrocytes (, with -''cyte'' translated as 'cell' in modern usage) in academia and medical publishing, also known as red cells, erythroid cells, and rarely haematids, are the most common type of blood cel ...

s. They absorb the nuclei of immature red blood cells and may provide

growth factor A growth factor is a naturally occurring substance capable of stimulating cell proliferation, wound healing, and occasionally cellular differentiation. Usually it is a secreted protein or a steroid hormone. Growth factors are important for ...

s to help the red blood cells mature. In the bone marrow, immature red blood cells (

erythroblast A nucleated red blood cell (NRBC), also known by #Nomenclature, several other names, is a red blood cell that contains a cell nucleus. Almost all vertebrate organisms have hemoglobin-containing cells in their blood, and with the exception of mamm ...

s) can be seen grouped in a cluster around a nurse cell. The epithelial cell found in the cortex of the

thymus The thymus (: thymuses or thymi) is a specialized primary lymphoid organ of the immune system. Within the thymus, T cells mature. T cells are critical to the adaptive immune system, where the body adapts to specific foreign invaders. The thymus ...

is also called a "nurse cell." These cells produce Thymic hormones that cause T lymphocytes to mature and differentiate.

Parasitology

In parasitology, a nurse cell is an infected cell in the disease

trichinosis Trichinosis, also known as trichinellosis, is a parasitic disease caused by roundworms of the '' Trichinella'' genus. During the initial infection, invasion of the intestines can result in diarrhea, abdominal pain, and vomiting. Migration of ...

discovered by

Dickson Despommier Dickson Donald Despommier (June 5, 1940 – February 7, 2025) was an American academic, microbiologist and ecologist who was a professor of microbiology and Public Health at Columbia University. From 1971 to 2009, he conducted research on intrac ...

. A trichinella

larva A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase ...

enters a

cell Cell most often refers to: * Cell (biology), the functional basic unit of life * Cellphone, a phone connected to a cellular network * Clandestine cell, a penetration-resistant form of a secret or outlawed organization * Electrochemical cell, a de ...

and develops there, probably as a way of concealing itself from the

immune system The immune system is a network of biological systems that protects an organism from diseases. It detects and responds to a wide variety of pathogens, from viruses to bacteria, as well as Tumor immunology, cancer cells, Parasitic worm, parasitic ...

. The parasite has evolved a way of stimulating

blood vessel Blood vessels are the tubular structures of a circulatory system that transport blood throughout many Animal, animals’ bodies. Blood vessels transport blood cells, nutrients, and oxygen to most of the Tissue (biology), tissues of a Body (bi ...

development around the cell, in order to receive the nutrients it needs. In trichinosis, nurse cells are invariably

skeletal muscle Skeletal muscle (commonly referred to as muscle) is one of the three types of vertebrate muscle tissue, the others being cardiac muscle and smooth muscle. They are part of the somatic nervous system, voluntary muscular system and typically are a ...

cells; these are the only type of cell that can support the

parasite Parasitism is a Symbiosis, close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives (at least some of the time) on or inside another organism, the Host (biology), host, causing it some harm, and is Adaptation, adapted str ...

Mycology

In mycology, a nurse cell is any

hyphae A hypha (; ) is a long, branching, filamentous structure of a fungus, oomycete, or actinobacterium. In most fungi, hyphae are the main mode of vegetative growth, and are collectively called a mycelium. Structure A hypha consists of one o ...

that supplies food material to

spores In biology, a spore is a unit of sexual (in fungi) or asexual reproduction that may be adapted for dispersal and for survival, often for extended periods of time, in unfavourable conditions. Spores form part of the life cycles of many plant ...

that have detached from the

basidia A basidium (: basidia) is a microscopic spore-producing structure found on the hymenophore of reproductive bodies of basidiomycete fungi. The presence of basidia is one of the main characteristic features of the group. These bodies are also ...

; used especially in reference to taxa from the family

Sclerodermataceae The Sclerodermataceae are a family of fungi in the order Boletales, containing several genera of unusual fungi that little resemble boletes. Taxa, which include species commonly known as the ‘hard-skinned puffballs’, ‘earthballs’, or ' ea ...

Cell biology

Ribonucleoprotein particles in the Drosophila egg chamber

In respect to

invertebrate Invertebrates are animals that neither develop nor retain a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''spine'' or ''backbone''), which evolved from the notochord. It is a paraphyletic grouping including all animals excluding the chordata, chordate s ...

s, nurse cells are polytenic germline cells that contribute to the development of the

oocyte An oocyte (, oöcyte, or ovocyte) is a female gametocyte or germ cell involved in reproduction. In other words, it is an immature ovum, or egg cell. An oocyte is produced in a female fetus in the ovary during female gametogenesis. The female ger ...

, producing multiple nuclei. In fruit flies ''(

Drosophila ''Drosophila'' (), from Ancient Greek δρόσος (''drósos''), meaning "dew", and φίλος (''phílos''), meaning "loving", is a genus of fly, belonging to the family Drosophilidae, whose members are often called "small fruit flies" or p ...

),'' nurse cells surround the developing oocyte and synthesize proteins and RNAs that are to be deposited in it. Nurse cells are highly polyploid (up to 8000C). They dump their

cytoplasm The cytoplasm describes all the material within a eukaryotic or prokaryotic cell, enclosed by the cell membrane, including the organelles and excluding the nucleus in eukaryotic cells. The material inside the nucleus of a eukaryotic cell a ...

containing RNAs and proteins into the oocyte via ring canals. Due to their high metabolic activity, nurse cells likely experience the DNA damaging effect of oxidative free radicals produced as a byproduct of this metabolism. This damaging effect would otherwise befall the DNA of the egg cells if they were responsible for their own synthesis. The many genome copies in each nurse cell may provide redundancy of genetic information that would allow the nurse cell to carry out its provisioning function even in the face of considerable oxidative DNA damage.Bernstein, C (1998). Sex as a response to oxidative DNA damage. Chapter 4, see pages 112-113. In “DNA and Free Radicals: Techniques, Mecchanisms @ Applications” (editors: Okezie I Aruoma, Barry Halliwell). OICA International (publisher), Saint Lucia and London

References

{{Reflist Parasitology

Human physiology

Parasitology

Mycology

Cell biology

See also

References