Onfelt Björn, Nedvetzki Shlomo, Yanagi Kumiko, Davis Daniel M
Department of Biological Sciences, Imperial College, London, United Kingdom.
J Immunol. 2004 Aug 1;173(3):1511-3. doi: 10.4049/jimmunol.173.3.1511.
We present evidence that nanotubular highways, or membrane nanotubes, facilitate a novel mechanism for intercellular communication in the immune system. Nanotubes were seen to connect multiple cells together and were readily formed between a variety of cell types, including human peripheral blood NK cells, macrophages, and EBV-transformed B cells. Nanotubes could be created upon disassembly of the immunological synapse, as cells move apart. Thus, nanotubular networks could be assembled from transient immunological synapses. Nanotubes were seen to contain GFP-tagged cell surface class I MHC protein expressed in one of the connected cells. Moreover, GPI-conjugated to GFP originating from one cell was transferred onto the surface of another at the connection with a nanotube. Thus, nanotubes can traffic cell surface proteins between immune cells over many tens of microns. Determining whether there are physiological functions for nanotubes is an intriguing new goal for cellular immunology.
我们提供的证据表明，纳米管状通道，即膜纳米管，为免疫系统中的细胞间通讯提供了一种新机制。纳米管被观察到将多个细胞连接在一起，并且在包括人外周血自然杀伤细胞、巨噬细胞和EB病毒转化的B细胞在内的多种细胞类型之间很容易形成。当细胞分开时，纳米管可以在免疫突触解体时形成。因此，纳米管网络可以由短暂的免疫突触组装而成。纳米管被观察到包含在其中一个相连细胞中表达的绿色荧光蛋白标记的细胞表面I类主要组织相容性复合体蛋白。此外，源自一个细胞的与绿色荧光蛋白偶联的糖基磷脂酰肌醇在与纳米管的连接处转移到另一个细胞的表面。因此，纳米管可以在数十微米的距离内运输免疫细胞之间的细胞表面蛋白。确定纳米管是否具有生理功能是细胞免疫学一个有趣的新目标。
