Cretoiu Sanda Maria
Victor Babeş National Institute of Pathology, Bucharest, 050096, Romania.
Division of Cell Biology and Histology, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 8 Eroii Sanitari Blvd., Bucharest, 050474, Romania.
Adv Exp Med Biol. 2016;913:335-357. doi: 10.1007/978-981-10-1061-3_22.
The seminal work of Popescu and colleagues first demonstrated the existence of a new cell type - the telocytes. We were among the first who reported the presence of such cells in the female genital tract and performed TEM examinations, as well as immunohistochemical staining in the attempt to find a specific marker. Telocytes from rat and from the human uterus and from human fallopian tube were extensively investigated initially by comparison with interstitial cells of Cajal. Progress in telocyte research led to the identification of different subtypes suggestive for a heterogeneous telocyte population which can even coexist in the same location. As a consequence, the functions of TCs are still elusive and can be considered a versatile phenomenon that depends on a variety of conditions, including signal reception and transmission of information via extracellular vesicles or by direct intercellular contact.
波佩斯库及其同事的开创性工作首次证明了一种新细胞类型——端细胞的存在。我们是最早报告女性生殖道中存在此类细胞并进行透射电子显微镜检查以及免疫组织化学染色以试图找到特定标志物的人之一。最初，通过与 Cajal 间质细胞比较，对来自大鼠、人类子宫和人类输卵管的端细胞进行了广泛研究。端细胞研究的进展导致了不同亚型的鉴定，这表明存在异质的端细胞群体，它们甚至可以共存于同一位置。因此，端细胞的功能仍然难以捉摸，可以被认为是一种取决于多种条件的多功能现象，包括通过细胞外囊泡或直接细胞间接触进行信号接收和信息传递。
