| Abstract: | A theoretical analysis of cell proliferation as a selflimiting process designed to maintain the integrity of an entire multicellular organism and based on the principles of a "hypercycle" suggests the need for the existence, starting at a certain level of multicellular organization, of a specialized system in control of tissue proliferation, a system represented by a body of cells capable of both stimulating and inhibiting the proliferation of a variety of cell types. An analysis of experimental data in different fields of the biological science points to certain T-cell populations as probable candidate for the role of cellular regulators of tissue proliferation. Using as an example the induction of murine liver regeneration by the administration of CCL4, the author demonstrates the dynamics of the formation of cells stimulating and inhibiting regeneration, which conforms well to theoretical considerations. |
