Mitochondrial transfer by intercellular nanotubes

BRUSCO, ALICIA; SANCHEZ, VIVIANA

Biochemistry of oxidative stress. Physiopathology and clinical aspects

Springer

Lugar: New York; Año: 2016; p. 95 - 108

Cell behavior is the result of its interaction with the environment, which includes both the soluble and fibrous molecules of the extracellular matrix in contact with the plasmatic membrane and other nearly or distant cells.Intercellular communication plays a central role in the development and maintenance of multicellular organisms. Without cell-to-cell communication, processes such as the remodeling of tissues and organs, differentiation during development, growth, cell division and responses to stimuli could not take place.The relationship between neighboring cells is highly developed in some tissues through molecular interchanges (Kumar and Gilula, 1996). The exchange of molecular information between cells includes the secretion of molecules and their subsequent binding through receptor-ligand mechanisms, cell endocytosis or plasmatic membrane crossing, with or without energy costs.Other types of cell-cell interaction include ionic exchange through gap junctions and the secretion of membranous carriers referred to as exosomes (Denzer et al., 2000). Large membrane structures such as desmosomes, zonula adherents and occludens also allow easy cohesion between neighboring cells, as observed in epithelial or cardiac cells.However, cells are also capable of exploring the extracellular environment and establishing directcontact over long distances, for example through long actin based extensions called cytonemes found during Drosophila development (Ramirez-Weber and Kornberg, 1999).Finally, a particularly interesting type of cell connection, tunneling nanotubes (TNTs) have been recently described as thin cytoplasmic bridges with actin cytoskeleton which connect distant cells (Rustom et al., 2004). The discovery of this new type of communication highways has opened up new ways of viewing how cells interact with one another.