This process is distinct from other cell division mechanisms such as mitosis and meiosis, mainly because it bypasses the complexities associated with the mitotic apparatus, such as spindle formation.
Additionally, amitosis does not involve the condensation of chromatin into distinct chromosomes before the cell divides, thereby simplifying the process of cellular replication.
[4] Amitosis is the division of cells in the interphase state, typically achieved by a simple constriction into two sometimes unequal halves without any regular segregation of genetic material.
Amitosis does not involve the maximal condensation of chromatin into chromosomes, a molecular event observable by light microscopy when sister chromatids align along the metaphase plate.
[7] Additional reports of non-mitotic proliferation and insights into its underlying mechanisms have emerged from extensive work with polyploid cells.
Eventually, this population gives rise to "normal" diploid cells by forming polyploid chromatin bouquets that return to an interphase state before separating into several secondary nuclei.
The scientific literature affirms the involvement of amitosis in cell proliferation and explores multiple amitotic mechanisms capable of producing "progeny nuclei" without "mitotic chromosomes."
[17] Chen and Wan[18] reported amitosis in rat liver and presented a mechanism for a four-stage amitotic process whereby chromatin threads are reproduced and equally distributed to daughter cells as the nucleus splits in two.
[24][25] During the initial stages of differentiation, particularly within the first 6 hours, aggregates of nuclei from monolayer syncytia undergo a unique process where they become enveloped in mitochondrial membranes.
Finally, the chromatin filaments emerging from these processes form a mass from which dozens of dome nuclei are amitotically generated over approximately 3 hours with the apparent involvement of nuclear envelope-limited sheets.
[12] Examination of fetal guts during development (5 to 7 weeks), colonic adenomas, and adenocarcinomas has revealed nuclei that appear as hollow bells encased in tubular syncytia.