Section of Anatomy and Histology, Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University of Florence, Florence, Italy.
J Histochem Cytochem. 2021 Dec;69(12):795-818. doi: 10.1369/00221554211025489. Epub 2021 Jun 24.
Telocytes (TCs) are newly identified interstitial cells characterized by thin and long cytoplasmic processes, called telopodes, which exhibit a distinctive moniliform shape and, often, a sinuous trajectory. Telopodes typically organize in intricate networks within the stromal space of most organs, where they communicate with neighboring cells by means of specialized cell-to-cell junctions or shedding extracellular vesicles. Hence, TCs are generally regarded as supporting cells that help in the maintenance of local tissue homeostasis, with an ever-increasing number of studies trying to explore their functions both in physiological and pathological conditions. Notably, TCs appear to be part of stem cell (SC) niches in different organs, including the intestine, skeletal muscle, heart, lung, and skin. Indeed, growing evidence points toward a possible implication of TCs in the regulation of the activity of tissue-resident SCs and in shaping the SC niche microenvironment, thus contributing to tissue renewal and repair. Here, we review how the introduction of TCs into the scientific literature has deepened our knowledge of the stromal architecture focusing on the intestine and skeletal muscle, two organs in which the recently unveiled unique relationship between TCs and SCs is currently in the spotlight as potential target for tissue regenerative purposes.
电传细胞（telocytes，TCs）是新近鉴定的间质细胞，其特征是具有细长的细胞质突起，称为 telopodes，呈独特的串珠状形态，且通常呈蜿蜒轨迹。telopodes 通常在大多数器官的基质空间中组织成错综复杂的网络，通过特殊的细胞间连接或释放细胞外囊泡与邻近细胞进行通讯。因此，TCs 通常被认为是支持细胞，有助于维持局部组织内稳态，越来越多的研究试图探索其在生理和病理条件下的功能。值得注意的是，TCs 似乎是不同器官（包括肠、骨骼肌、心脏、肺和皮肤）中的干细胞（stem cell，SC）龛的一部分。事实上，越来越多的证据表明 TCs 可能参与调节组织驻留干细胞的活性，并塑造 SC 龛微环境，从而促进组织更新和修复。在这里，我们回顾了 TCs 被引入科学文献后如何加深我们对基质结构的认识，重点介绍了肠和骨骼肌这两个器官，其中 TCs 与 SCs 之间最近揭示的独特关系目前是组织再生目的的潜在靶点。
