MeSH Browser

MeSH Heading: Giant Cells
Tree Number(s): A11.500
Unique ID: D015726
RDF Unique Identifier: http://id.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/D015726
Scope Note: Multinucleated masses produced by the fusion of many cells; often associated with viral infections. In AIDS, they are induced when the envelope glycoprotein of the HIV virus binds to the CD4 antigen of uninfected neighboring T4 cells. The resulting syncytium leads to cell death and thus may account for the cytopathic effect of the virus.
Entry Term(s): Giant Cells, Multinucleated; Multinucleated Giant Cells; Polykaryocytes; Syncytia; Syncytium
Previous Indexing: Cell Fusion (1972-1989)
Public MeSH Note: 90
History Note: 90
Date Established: 1990/01/01
Date of Entry: 1989/04/07
Revision Date: 2011/06/24

Allowable Qualifiers: chemistry (CH)

classification (CL)

cytology (CY)

drug effects (DE)

enzymology (EN)

immunology (IM)

metabolism (ME)

microbiology (MI)

parasitology (PS)

pathology (PA)

physiology (PH)

radiation effects (RE)

transplantation (TR)

ultrastructure (UL)

virology (VI)

Concept UI: M0024113
Scope Note: Multinucleated masses produced by the fusion of many cells; often associated with viral infections. In AIDS, they are induced when the envelope glycoprotein of the HIV virus binds to the CD4 antigen of uninfected neighboring T4 cells. The resulting syncytium leads to cell death and thus may account for the cytopathic effect of the virus.
Terms: Giant Cells Preferred Term
Term UI T046645
Date01/01/1999
LexicalTag NON
ThesaurusID NLM (1990); Syncytium
Term UI T046650
Date02/21/1989
LexicalTag NON
ThesaurusID NLM (1990); Giant Cells, Multinucleated
Term UI T046646
Date02/21/1989
LexicalTag NON
ThesaurusID NLM (1990); Multinucleated Giant Cells
Term UI T046647
Date02/21/1989
LexicalTag NON
ThesaurusID NLM (1990); Polykaryocytes
Term UI T046648
Date02/21/1989
LexicalTag NON
ThesaurusID NLM (1990); Syncytia
Term UI T046649
Date03/14/1994
LexicalTag NON
ThesaurusID NLM (1995)

Giant Cells MeSH Descriptor Data 2025