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Review
. 2018 Nov 8;16(1):76.
doi: 10.1186/s12964-018-0281-7.

Perspective on nanochannels as cellular mediators in different disease conditions

Eshna Jash  1 , Peeyush Prasad  1 , Naveen Kumar  1 , Taruna Sharma  1 , Aaron Goldman  2   3   4 , Seema Sehrawat  5   6
Affiliations
Review

Perspective on nanochannels as cellular mediators in different disease conditions

Eshna Jash et al. Cell Commun Signal. .

Abstract

Tunnelling nanotubes (TNTs), also known as membrane nanochannels, are actin-based structures that facilitate cytoplasmic connections for rapid intercellular transfer of signals, organelles and membrane components. These dynamic TNTs can form de novo in animal cells and establish complex intercellular networks between distant cells up to 150 μm apart. Within the last decade, TNTs have been discovered in different cell types including tumor cells, macrophages, monocytes, endothelial cells and T cells. It has also been further elucidated that these nanotubes play a vital role in diseased conditions such as cancer, where TNT formation occurs at a higher pace and is used for rapid intercellular modulation of chemo-resistance. Viruses such as HIV, HSV and prions also hijack the existing TNT connections between host cells for rapid transmission and evasion of the host immune responses. The following review aims to describe the heterogeneity of TNTs, their role in different tissues and disease conditions in order to enhance our understanding on how these nanotubes can be used as a target for therapies.

Keywords: Tumor-endothelial interaction; Tumor-immune cell interaction; Tumor-macrophages cell-cell communication; Tunneling nanotubes (TNTs).

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Conflict of interest statement

Ethics approval and consent to participate

Not Applicable.

Consent for publication

Not Applicable.

Competing interests

AG is an employee of Mitra Biotech and holds equity. All other authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Schematic representation depicts inter and intra cellular communication between different cells using TNT’s. These TNT’s are observed to form between different cell types such as myeloid cells and cancer cells. They are also known to be involved in cancer migration and metastasis [19, 55, 44, 56]
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Formation of TNT’s for exchange or transfer of different cellular organelles such as mitochondria, Golgi apparatus, lysosomes. These are involved in exchange of important proteins, nucleic acids and ions associated in different signalling cascades. TNT’s express different receptors which are involved in bacterial and viral infection progression [, –60]
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