Permanent cells are
cells that are incapable of
regeneration. These cells are considered to be
terminally differentiated
Cellular differentiation is the process in which a stem cell alters from one type to a differentiated one. Usually, the cell changes to a more specialized type. Differentiation happens multiple times during the development of a multicellular ...
and
non-proliferative in postnatal life. This includes
neurons
A neuron, neurone, or nerve cell is an electrically excitable cell that communicates with other cells via specialized connections called synapses. The neuron is the main component of nervous tissue in all animals except sponges and placozoa. N ...
,
heart cells,
skeletal muscle cells and
red blood cells
Red blood cells (RBCs), also referred to as red cells, red blood corpuscles (in humans or other animals not having nucleus in red blood cells), haematids, erythroid cells or erythrocytes (from Greek language, Greek ''erythros'' for "red" and ''k ...
. Although these cells are considered permanent in that they neither reproduce nor transform into other cells, this does not mean that the body cannot create new versions of these cells. For instance, structures in the
bone marrow
Bone marrow is a semi-solid tissue found within the 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 is composed of hematopoietic ce ...
produce new red blood cells constantly, while skeletal muscle damage can be repaired by underlying
satellite cells, which fuse to become a new skeletal muscle cell.
Disease and
virology studies can use permanent cells to maintain cell count and accurately quantify the effects of
vaccines.
Some
embryology studies also use permanent cells to avoid harvesting
embryonic cells from pregnant animals; since the cells are permanent, they may be harvested at a later age when an animal is fully developed.
See also
*
Labile cells, which multiply constantly throughout life
*
Stable cell
In cellular biology, stable cells are cells that multiply only when needed. They spend most of the time in the quiescent G0 phase of the cell cycle but can be stimulated to enter the cell cycle when needed. Examples include the liver, the proxim ...
s, which only multiply when receiving external stimulus to do so
References
Anatomical terminology
Cells
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