Secarecytosis

Secarecytosis is a word coined to refer to the processes of cell cutting during attenuation of the tubular epithelium of the developing avian lung. It is derived from the Latin word "secare" which means "to cut". It differs from holocrine and apocrine secretory mechanisms in that it occurs only during development and that portions of cells, complete with their organelles, are lost. It has three documented phenotypes. These include: (i) formation of a double cell membrane and separation between the two membranes; (ii)formation of large vacuoles in the supranuclear cytoplasm, their subsequent fusion with each other and with the lateral cell membranes thus separating the apical portion; (iii) formation of many tiny vesicles that fuse with each other and the cell membrane thus severing portions of the cell.

Reference1. Makanya AN, Hlushchuk R Duncker HR Djonov V. 2006. Epithelial transformations in the establishment of the blood-gas barrier in the developing chick embryo lung. Developmental Dynamics 235:68-81] [http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/fulltext/112137835/PDFSTART] .