ON THE RESTING PERIODS IN THE CELL LIFE CYCLE *

The review is concerned with the transition of cells into a specific physiological state—the resting period—in which they may stay for an indefinite time interval without undergoing division or differentiation but retaining both of these potentials. When stimulated such cells may enter into mitotic cycle, divide and differentiate. No direct correlation between the onset of the differentiated state and the transition of cells through the mitotic cycle has been established. It cannot be excluded that sometimes cells may differentiate directly from the resting period. However, there is a large body of evidence that the entry of cells into mitotic cycle is a necessary prerequisite for subsequent differentiation. The susceptibility of cells to differentiative stimuli is retained during the mitotic cycle. The completion of mitosis itself does not imply that a cell will undergo differentiation; in the absence of adequate stimulus it may pass again into a resting period. According to what is known at present it is suggested that cells may pass into a true resting stage not only after completing mitosis but also after doubling their DNA content. It is also conceivable that a cell may pass into a resting period at different stages of its life cycle. The essential feature of the cell life cycle is the alternation of resting periods and periods of active proliferation. This general principle of organization provides conditions necessary for population‐size control, cell differentiation, interaction of a given population with other systems, and the reactions of cells to a changing environment.