Intercellular bridges for cell-cell communication

In multicellular organism, intercellular communication is essential for maintenance of life activity. The intercellular communication includes direct and indirect crosstalk such as gap junction and ligand-receptor interaction, pectively. Recently, a new type of cell-cell communication for intercellular exchange of signaling molecules via a nanotube bridge structures, referred to as a tunneling nanotubule (TNT), between nearby cells was identified. In this review,we roduce current understanding of TNT having received a lot of attention as a novel direct cell-cell communication method.departmental bulletin pape