ArticleProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America2010
Animal cells connected by nanotubes can be electrically coupled through interposed gap-junction channels.
Article in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2010. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 183 papers.
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183 citing papers in PubMed, 322 citations in OpenAlex.
- Mitochondria-Targeted Nanotherapeutics: A Promising Strategy in Modulating Mitochondrial Function, Transfer, and Transplantation.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Review
- Regulation and function of specialized membrane protrusions in intercellular communication.Nature reviews. Molecular cell biology · 2026Review
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- Beyond the gap: moonlighting functions of connexins in cancer.Cell communication and signaling : CCS · 2026Review
- Tunnelling Nanotube-Mediated Lysosome Sharing Promotes Osteocyte Survival via Transcellular Autophagy.Cell proliferation · 2026Article
- Building the bridges: molecular mechanisms of tunneling nanotube formation.Cellular and molecular life sciences : CMLS · 2026Review
- Mobile Powerhouses: Mitochondria Transfer via Tunnelling Nanotubes in Brain Health and Neurodegenerative Diseases.The European journal of neuroscience · 2026Review
- Intercellular Communication via Mitotic Nanotubes is Influenced by Connexin-43 Trafficking and Actin Remodeling.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Calcium Signaling in Cardiac Fibroblasts: Roles in Fibrosis and Therapeutic Implications.Cardiovascular drugs and therapy · 2026Review
- Mitochondria beyond boundaries: from cellular powerhouses to intercellular messengers in health and disease.Science China. Life sciences · 2026Review
- CD13 activation assembles phosphoinositide (PI) signaling complexes to regulate the actin cytoskeleton.Scientific reports · 2026Article
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- Nanotubular networks in the aging brain: from neuroprotection to neurodegeneration.Frontiers in human neuroscience · 2026Article
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- Beyond synapses: cytoplasmic connections in brain function and evolution.Biological reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society · 2025Review
- Facilitated α-synuclein oligomer sharing among glial cells by a centrally acting connexin inhibitor attenuates a rapidly progressive multiple system atrophy-cerebellar type model by reducing the neuronal α-synuclein burden.Acta neuropathologica communications · 2025Article
- Synergistic Modulating of Mitochondrial Transfer and Immune Microenvironment to Attenuate Discogenic Pain.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2025Article
- Zika virus NS1 drives tunneling nanotube formation for mitochondrial transfer and stealth transmission in trophoblasts.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Bioelectricity is a universal multifaced signaling cue in living organisms.Molecular biology of the cell · 2025Review
- Walking on the tightrope: the shared roles of the bridging pericytes in the brain.Frontiers in cellular neuroscience · 2025Review
123 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 1 institution in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Tunneling nanotubes (TNTs) are recently discovered conduits for a previously unrecognized form of cell-to-cell communication. These nanoscale, F-actin-containing membrane tubes connect cells over long distances and facilitate the intercellular exchange of small molecules and organelles. Using optical membrane-potential measurements combined with mechanical stimulation and whole-cell patch-clamp recording, we demonstrate that TNTs mediate the bidirectional spread of electrical signals between TNT-connected normal rat kidney cells over distances of 10 to 70 μm. Similar results were obtained for other cell types, suggesting that electrical coupling via TNTs may be a widespread characteristic of animal cells. Strength of electrical coupling depended on the length and number of TNT connections. Several lines of evidence implicate a role for gap junctions in this long-distance electrical coupling: punctate connexin 43 immunoreactivity was frequently detected at one end of TNTs, and electrical coupling was voltage-sensitive and inhibited by meclofenamic acid, a gap-junction blocker. Cell types lacking gap junctions did not show TNT-dependent electrical coupling, which suggests that TNT-mediated electrical signals are transmitted through gap junctions at a membrane interface between the TNT and one cell of the connected pair. Measurements of the fluorescent calcium indicator X-rhod-1 revealed that TNT-mediated depolarization elicited threshold-dependent, transient calcium signals in HEK293 cells. These signals were inhibited by the voltage-gated Ca(2+) channel blocker mibefradil, suggesting they were generated via influx of calcium through low voltage-gated Ca(2+) channels. Taken together, our data suggest a unique role for TNTs, whereby electrical synchronization between distant cells leads to activation of downstream target signaling.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.