Cells Send Signals Via Membrane Nanotubes
Date: 4.5.2011
Most of the body's cells communicate with each other by sending electrical signals through nano-thin membrane tubes. A sensational Norwegian research discovery may help to explain how cells cooperate to develop tissue in the embryo and how wounds heal.
For nearly ten years, researchers have known that cells can "grow" ultra-thin tubes named tunnelling nanotubes (TNTs) between one another. These nanotubes -- the length of two to three cells and just 1/500th the thickness of a human hair -- are connections that develop between nearly all cell types to form a communication channel different from any previously known mechanisms.
Intercellular nanotubes are far from permanent. Most of them last only a few minutes. This means the researchers cannot predict where and when the cells will form nanotube connections.
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