Clinical and Experimental Medicine PhD Program, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41125 Modena, Italy.
Nanotech Lab, Te.Far.T.I., Department of Life Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41125 Modena, Italy.
Int J Mol Sci. 2022 Feb 17;23(4):2237. doi: 10.3390/ijms23042237.
Tunneling nanotubes (TNTs), discovered in 2004, are thin, long protrusions between cells utilized for intercellular transfer and communication. These newly discovered structures have been demonstrated to play a crucial role in homeostasis, but also in the spreading of diseases, infections, and metastases. Gaining much interest in the medical research field, TNTs have been shown to transport nanomedicines (NMeds) between cells. NMeds have been studied thanks to their advantageous features in terms of reduced toxicity of drugs, enhanced solubility, protection of the payload, prolonged release, and more interestingly, cell-targeted delivery. Nevertheless, their transfer between cells via TNTs makes their true fate unknown. If better understood, TNTs could help control NMed delivery. In fact, TNTs can represent the possibility both to improve the biodistribution of NMeds throughout a diseased tissue by increasing their formation, or to minimize their formation to block the transfer of dangerous material. To date, few studies have investigated the interaction between NMeds and TNTs. In this work, we will explain what TNTs are and how they form and then review what has been published regarding their potential use in nanomedicine research. We will highlight possible future approaches to better exploit TNT intercellular communication in the field of nanomedicine.
隧道纳米管（TNTs）于 2004 年被发现，是细胞间用于细胞间转移和通讯的细长突起。这些新发现的结构已被证明在维持体内平衡中起着至关重要的作用，但也在疾病、感染和转移的传播中起着至关重要的作用。由于隧道纳米管能够在细胞间运输纳米药物（NMeds），因此在医学研究领域引起了广泛关注。NMeds 因其具有降低药物毒性、提高溶解度、保护有效载荷、延长释放时间等优势而受到研究。更有趣的是，它们可以实现细胞靶向递送。然而，NMeds 通过 TNTs 在细胞间的转移使得它们的真实命运仍然未知。如果对 TNTs 有更好的了解，就可以帮助控制 NMed 的递送。事实上，TNTs 既可以通过增加它们的形成来提高 NMeds 在病变组织中的生物分布，也可以通过减少它们的形成来阻止危险物质的转移，从而改善 NMeds 的生物分布。迄今为止，很少有研究探讨 NMeds 与 TNTs 之间的相互作用。在这项工作中，我们将解释什么是 TNTs 以及它们是如何形成的，然后回顾已发表的关于它们在纳米医学研究中潜在用途的研究。我们将重点介绍在纳米医学领域更好地利用 TNT 细胞间通讯的可能的未来方法。
