Modeling intercellular transfer of biomolecules through tunneling nanotubes.
Bull Math Biol
; 75(8): 1400-16, 2013 Aug.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-23417627
ABSTRACT
Tunneling nanotubes (TNTs) have previosly been observed as long and thin transient structures forming between cells and intercellular protein transfer through them has been experimentally verified. It is hypothesized that this may be a physiologically important means of cell-cell communication. This paper attempts to give a simple model for the rates of transfer of molecules across these TNTs at different distances. We describe the transfer of both cytosolic and membrane bound molecules between neighboring populations of cells and argue how the lifetime of the TNT, the diffusion rate, distance between cells, and the size of the molecules may affect their transfer. The model described makes certain predictions and opens a number of questions to be explored experimentally.
Texto completo:
1
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Comunicação Celular
/
Nanotubos
/
Modelos Biológicos
Tipo de estudo:
Prognostic_studies
Limite:
Animals
/
Humans
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2013
Tipo de documento:
Article