ArticleInvestigative ophthalmology & visual science2017
Tunneling Nanotubes are Novel Cellular Structures That Communicate Signals Between Trabecular Meshwork Cells.
Article in Investigative ophthalmology & visual science, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 35 papers.
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Who cites it
35 citing papers in PubMed, 52 citations in OpenAlex.
- Tunneling nanotubes: a new dimension of intercellular communication and recent progress.Cell communication and signaling : CCS · 2026Review
- Dysfunction of the CD38-Miro1 Axis Disrupts Astrocyte-neuron Mitochondrial Transfer in Alzheimer's Disease: Mechanisms and Therapeutic Restoration.Journal of molecular neuroscience : MN · 2026Review
- Building the bridges: molecular mechanisms of tunneling nanotube formation.Cellular and molecular life sciences : CMLS · 2026Review
- Breaking cellular boundaries: molecular mechanisms of tunneling nanotube formation and fusion.Biochemical Society transactions · 2026Review
- Mitochondrial transfer and mesenchymal stem cells in ophthalmology: current evidence and therapeutic implications.Experimental biology and medicine (Maywood, N.J.) · 2026Review
- Chemically gated artificial nanochannels for programmable subcellular signal modulated transport regulation.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Mechanobiology in the eye.npj biological physics and mechanics · 2025Review
- Nanotubules and Cellular Communication in Trabecular Meshwork Cells.Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.) · 2025Article
- Superresolution Imaging Reveals the Spatial Organization of CD81 Microdomains in Regulating Membrane Signaling on Jurkat T Cell Microvilli.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2024Article
- Potential Mechanisms of Tunneling Nanotube Formation and Their Role in Pathology Spread in Alzheimer's Disease and Other Proteinopathies.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Review
- Horizontal mitochondrial transfer as a novel bioenergetic tool for mesenchymal stromal/stem cells: molecular mechanisms and therapeutic potential in a variety of diseases.Journal of translational medicine · 2024Review
- ROCK inhibitor enhances mitochondrial transfer via tunneling nanotubes in retinal pigment epithelium.Theranostics · 2024Article
- Article
- Actin dynamics in protein homeostasis.Bioscience reports · 2022Review
- Molecular regulation of neuroinflammation in glaucoma: Current knowledge and the ongoing search for new treatment targets.Progress in retinal and eye research · 2022Review
- Degeneration of retina-brain components and connections in glaucoma: Disease causation and treatment options for eyesight preservation.Current research in neurobiology · 2022Review
- The Effects of Mechanical Stretch on Integrins and Filopodial-Associated Proteins in Normal and Glaucomatous Trabecular Meshwork Cells.Frontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2022Article
- Article
- Normal and glaucomatous outflow regulation.Progress in retinal and eye research · 2021Review
- Mitochondrial dynamics, positioning and function mediated by cytoskeletal interactions.Cellular and molecular life sciences : CMLS · 2021Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Purpose: The actin cytoskeleton of trabecular meshwork (TM) cells plays a role in regulating aqueous humor outflow. Many studies have investigated stress fibers, but F-actin also assembles into other supramolecular structures including filopodia. Recently, specialized filopodia called tunneling nanotubes (TNTs) have been described, which communicate molecular signals and organelles directly between cells. Here, we investigate TNT formation by TM cells. Methods: Human TM cells were labeled separately with the fluorescent dyes, DiO and DiD, or with mitochondrial dye. Fixed or live TM cells were imaged using confocal microscopy. Image analysis software was used to track fluorescent vesicles and count the number and length of filopodia. The number of fluorescently labeled vesicles transferred between cells was counted in response to specific inhibitors of the actin cytoskeleton. Human TM tissue was stained with phalloidin. Results: Live-cell confocal imaging of cultured TM cells showed transfer of fluorescently labeled vesicles and mitochondria via TNTs. In TM tissue, a long (160 μm) actin-rich cell process bridged an intertrabecular space and did not adhere to the substratum. Treatment of TM cells with CK-666, an Arp2/3 inhibitor, significantly decreased the number and length of filopodia, decreased transfer of fluorescently labeled vesicles and induced thick stress fibers compared to vehicle control. Conversely, inhibiting stress fibers using Y27632 increased transfer of vesicles and induced long cell processes. Conclusions: Identification of TNTs provides a means by which TM cells can directly communicate with each other over long distances. This may be particularly important to overcome limitations of diffusion-based signaling in the aqueous humor fluid environment.
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Registered trials
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