How long does it take for a human skin cell to complete Mitosis?

Ah.. and how long does each stage take?


(Including Prophase, Interphase, Anaphase, and Telophase)


Thank You!

How long does it take for a human skin cell to complete Mitosis?
Cells that are undergoing constant mitosis such as hematopoetic stem cells (cells in your bone marrow that give rise to blood cells) and keratinocytes (skin cells) generally replicate in an ongoing manner about once a day, or faster. I should say that it is only the skin cells of the bottom two layers of epidermis that undergo replication (stratum basale, and stratum spinosum). Most of the replication occurs in the bottom layer of the epidermis (basale).





Most of the time will be spent in the pre-mitotic cell cycle stages, G1, S, and G2, giving the cell ample time to replicate its DNA, and prepare for the division. These stages are collectively referred to as 'interphase'. The G1 phase varies (it will be at least 4 hours), the G2 phase lasts aroud 4-5 hours, and the S phase is usually around 6-8 hours (this is when the DNA is replicating). So the entire interphase will be anywhere from 14-24 hours.





The mitotic process (the M phase) only takes about an hour. Prophase is usually the longest phase of mitosis, and is in itself often broken down into a few different substages. Once the metaphase stage begins, things move along pretty swiftly.





Hope that helps!