Tunneling Nanotubes: A New Type of Intercellular Communicating Junction

Abstract: Varieties of interactions among cells such as cell junctions and cell communications critical for the developmental process exist in all kinds of multicellular organisms. Recently， one kind of brand-new mode of direct cell-to-cell communications which were characterized as threadlike membranous channels， termed tunneling nanotubes (TNTs)， was discovered in mammalian cells. TNTs are in a dynamic shift between formation and disconnection as channels to connect and communicate cells each other， and weave a complicated network structure in multi-cell system， therefore， they play an indispensable role in the physiological functions. All the evidences suggest the TNTs have a vast possibility to be a ubiquitous biological phenomenon in animal cells.

CSTR: 32200.14.cjcb.2008.04.0007