Tunneling nanotubes: A new route for the exchange of components between animal cells

• Published in: FEBS letters 2007-05, Vol.581 (11), p.2194-2201
• Main Authors: Gerdes, Hans-Hermann, Bukoreshtliev, Nickolay V., Barroso, João F.V.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 1,1′-dioctadecyl-3,3,3′,3′-tetramethylindocarbocyanine perchlorate; 1,1′-dioctadecyl-3,3,3′,3′-tetramethylindodicarbocyanine perchlorate; 3,3′-dioctadecyloxacarbocyanine perchlorate; Animals; Biological Transport - physiology; Cell Communication; Cell Membrane - metabolism; Cell Membrane - ultrastructure; Cell-to-cell communication; DiD; DiI; DiO; EBV; EGFP; EGFP fused to the farnesylation signal of c-Ha-Ras; endoplasmic reticulum; endothelial progenitor cells; enhanced green fluorescent protein; EPCs; Epstein Barr Virus; F-actin; f-EGFP; Humans; Intercellular transfer; Membrane continuity; Nanotubes - ultrastructure; natural killer; PDs; Plasmodesmata; Plasmodesmata - metabolism; SEL; size exclusion limit; TNT; Tunneling nanotube
• ISSN: 0014-5793; 1873-3468
• DOI: 10.1016/j.febslet.2007.03.071

Recently, highly sensitive nanotubular structures mediating membrane continuity between mammalian cells have been discovered. With respect to their peculiar architecture, these membrane channels were termed tunneling nanotubes (TNTs). TNTs could form de novo between animal cells leading to the generation of complex cellular networks. They have been shown to facilitate the intercellular transfer of organelles as well as, on a limited scale, of membrane components and cytoplasmic molecules. It has been proposed that TNTs represent a novel and general biological principle of cell-to-cell communication and it becomes increasingly apparent that they fulfill important functions in the physiological processes of multicellular organisms.