This document discusses cell fusion, including its definition, types, advantages, disadvantages, and methods. Cell fusion is the process where cells combine to form a multinuclear syncytium. There are two main types: homotypic fusion between identical cell types and heterotypic fusion between different cell types. Key methods to fuse cells include polyethylene glycol (PEG), electrical fusion, and Sendai virus. PEG acts to dehydrate and fuse cell membranes but can be toxic, while electrical fusion and Sendai virus are more targeted and reproducible. The advantages are its research applications, though it poses genetic stability risks.

1. Done by : Lamya Alsadhan
Submitted to : Dr. Elsayed Ahmed Elsayed

2. Objectives:
•What is cell fusion?
•Types of Cell Fusion
•The Advantages and Disadvantages of Cell Fusion.
•Methods of Cell Fusion:
• PEG.
• E-Fusion.
• SENDAI virus.

3. What is Cell fusion?
Cell fusion is an important cellular
process in which several
uninuclear cells (cells with a single
nucleus) combine to form a
multinuclear cell, known as a
SYNCYTIUM.

4. Brief History About Cell Fusion
• 1847 : Theodore Schwann first provided hint of cell fusion.
• 1960 : cell biologists started deliberately fusion of cells
using the Sendai virus.
• late 1960s : biologists successfully fused cells of different
types and from different species.
• 2002 : the possibility of cell fusion between cells of different
types may have a real function in mammals.

6. Types of Cell Fusion:
• Homotypic cell fusion: occurs
between cells of the same
type.
• An example of this would be
osteoclasts being fusing
together with their
respective type of cells.
Potential mechanism of fusion of preosteoclasts and of macrophages.
Agnès Vignery J Exp Med 2005;202:337-340
© 2005 Rockefeller University Press

7. Types of Cell Fusion:
•Heterotypic cell fusion
occurs between cells of
different types, making it the
exact opposite of homotypic
cell fusion.

8. TheAdvantages of Cell Fusion
• Help in mapping of chromosomes.
• Help in generation/production of monoclonal antibodies.
• To create new species.
• Cut the species barrier genetically that cant be done through the fusion of
gametes.
The Disadvantages of Cell Fusion
• Low genetic stability and high risk of contamination.
• The quality and quantity of antibodies produced are low.
• Expensive, as it uses materials and equipment's for mammalian cell
culture.
• Genetic engineering can’t be done.

9. Methods of Cell Fusion:
• There are three methods
that cell biologists use to
fuse cells. These three ways
include Polyethylene glycol
(peg) cell fusion, Electrical
cell fusion and Sendai virus
induced cell fusion.

10. What is POLYETHYLENE GLYCOL
(PEG)?
• Polyethylene glycol (PEG) is a
polyether compound with many
applications from industrial
manufacturing to medicine.
• PEG is also known as polyethylene
oxide (PEO) or polyoxyethylene
(POE), depending on its molecular
weight. The structure of PEG is
commonly expressed as
H−(O−CH2−CH2)n−OH.

11. WhatActually PEG Do to Fuse the Cells:
(1) Altering the structure and dielectric properties of
water.
(2) Altering the molecular order of the bilayer at the
point of contact due to aggregation and
dehydration.
(3) Induction of non-bilayer structures
(4) Acting as a detergent to disrupt bilayer structure
(5) Binding to and cross-linking vesicles.
(6) Inducing phase separation that destabilizes the
bilayer .

12. Biological Applications of PEG:
• Commonly used as a crowding agent in in vitro assays to mimic highly crowded cellular
conditions.
• PEG is commonly used as a precipitant for plasmid DNA isolation and protein crystallization.
• PEG is used to fuse two different types of cells, most often B-cells and myelomas in order to
create HYBRIDOMAS.
• In microbiology, PEG precipitation is used to concentrate viruses.
• PEG is also used to induce complete fusion (mixing of both inner and outer leaflets) in liposomes
reconstituted in vitro.
• Gene therapy vectors (such as viruses) can be PEG-coated to shield them from inactivation by
the immune system and to de-target them from organs where they may build up and have a toxic
effect.
• In blood banking, PEG is used as a potentiator to enhance detection of antigens and antibodies.

13. Consequences of Cell Fusion with
POLYETHYLENE GLYCOL (PEG)
• Polyethylene glycol cell fusion is the simplest, but most toxic, way to
fuse the cells.
• PEG acts as a dehydrating agent and fuses not only plasma
membranes but also intracellular membranes.
• PEG can cause uncontrollable fusion leading to the appearance of
giant polykaryons.
• poorly reproducible.

14. Electrofusion (E-fusion)
• E-fusion uses electricity instead of chemicals to align and
fuse cells.

15. Applications :
•Nuclear transfer
•Embryo manipulation
•Hybridoma production
•Plant protoplast fusion

16. How E-fusion compared to PEG:
• E-fusion produces 10 fold higher fusion efficiencies
compared to PEG.
• E-fusion is not cytotoxic to cells. PEG causes H202 buildup
which is highly toxic to cells.
• E-fusion is optimized and reproducible, PEG is difficult to
work with and results fluctuate from experiment to
experiment.

17. Sendai virus induced cell fusion :
We Must First Understand HowVIRUS Gain Entry into Cells

18. Sendai virus (SeV):
• also known as murine parainfluenza virus type
1 or hemagglutinating virus of Japan (HVJ).
• Sendai virus (SeV) was first isolated in
Sendai, Japan.
• SeV is single-stranded RNA virus
• SeV is a member of genus Respirovirus,
members of which primarily infect mammals.
• SeV used in the fusion of eukaryotic cells,
especially to produce HYBRIDOMA

19. SENDAIVIRUS Components Helps in Cell Fusion
• Six genes coding for viral proteins are
situated sequentially on the genome of the
wild-type SeV in the following order:
• Nucelocapsid protein (NP)
• Phosphoprotein (P)
• Matrix protein (M)
• Fusion protein (F)
• Hemagglutinin-Neuraminidase (HN)
• Large protein (L)

20. How SENDAIVIRUS Fuses with Cell Membrane
• One way of SeV infection of cells by attaching itself to the sialic acid receptor or sialic
acid residues on gangliosides (glycolipids) on cell receptor and HN protein on the virus
membrane.
• Another way is by the activation of F protein by a protease is required for the virus-cell
fusion process to take place.
• Upon binding of the virion to a cell surface receptor, the F1/F2 (fusion) protein
undergoes a conformational change at neutral pH that allows insertion of the fusion
peptide into the plasma membrane of the cell. This brings the virus envelope close to
the cell membrane and leads to fusion of the two membranes, releasing the
nucleocapsid in the cytoplasm.
• When the HN and F protein are manufactured by the cell and expressed on the
surface, the same process may occur between adjacent cells, causing extensive
membrane fusion and resulting in the formation of a syncytium

21. Why Inactivation of SeVVIRUS is
Necessary
• UV rays can be used, however,
to inactivate viruses
since virus particles are small and
the UV rays can reach the genetic
material, inducing the dimerisation of
nucleic acids. Once the DNA
dimerised, the virus particules
cannot replicate their genetic
material which prevent them from
spreading.