Intracellular Accumulations: Causes, Types, Examples, and Clinical Significance
Intracellular accumulations
represent the buildup of substances that cells cannot immediately use or
eliminate. The substances may accumulate in the cytoplasm (frequently in the
lysosomes) or in the nucleus. In some cases the accumulation may be an abnormal
substance that the cell has produced, and in other cases the cell may be
storing exogenous materials or products of pathologic processes occurring
elsewhere in the body. An example would be the accumulation of beta amyloid
fragments, which progress to a skeletal muscle disorder called myositis. These
substances may accumulate transiently
or permanently, and they may be
harmless or, in some cases, toxic.









