College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, 866 Yuhangtang Road, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, People's Republic of China.
Mol Pharm. 2021 Mar 1;18(3):772-786. doi: 10.1021/acs.molpharmaceut.0c01248. Epub 2021 Feb 2.
Direct intercellular communication is an important prerequisite for the development of multicellular organisms, the regeneration of tissue, and the maintenance of various physiological activities. Tunnel nanotubes (TNTs), which have diameters of approximately 50-1500 nm and lengths of up to several cell diameters, can connect cells over long distances and have emerged as one of the most important recently discovered types of efficient communication between cells. Moreover, TNTs can also directly transfer organelles, vehicles, proteins, genetic material, ions, and small molecules from one cell to adjacent and even distant cells. However, the mechanism of intercellular communication between various immune cells within the complex immune system has not been fully elucidated. Studies in the past decades have confirmed the existence of TNTs in many types of cells, especially in various kinds of immune cells. TNTs display different structural and functional characteristics between and within different immunocytes, playing a major role in the transmission of signals across various kinds of immune cells. In this review, we introduce the discovery and structure of TNTs, as well as their different functional properties within different immune cells. We also discuss the roles of TNTs in potentiating the immune response and their potential therapeutic applications.
直接细胞间通讯是多细胞生物发育、组织再生和维持各种生理活动的重要前提。隧道纳米管（TNTs）的直径约为 50-1500nm，长度可达几个细胞直径，可在长距离连接细胞，是最近发现的细胞间有效通讯的最重要类型之一。此外，TNTs 还可以直接将细胞器、载体、蛋白质、遗传物质、离子和小分子从一个细胞转移到相邻甚至远隔的细胞。然而，复杂免疫系统中各种免疫细胞之间的细胞间通讯机制尚未完全阐明。过去几十年的研究已经证实 TNTs 存在于许多类型的细胞中，特别是在各种免疫细胞中。TNTs 在不同免疫细胞之间和内部显示出不同的结构和功能特征，在各种免疫细胞之间传递信号方面发挥着重要作用。在这篇综述中，我们介绍了 TNTs 的发现和结构，以及它们在不同免疫细胞中的不同功能特性。我们还讨论了 TNTs 在增强免疫反应中的作用及其潜在的治疗应用。
