Table 1.
TNT-like structures in vitroa
| Cell type | TNT-like structures | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Cytoskeletal components | Membrane continuity/ “open-ended” | Cargo | |
| PC12 cells (Rustom et al. 2004) | F-actin, myosin Va | (+)b | Endosome-related organelles, lipid-anchored proteins (EGFP-f), EGFP-actin |
| NRK cells (Rustom et al. 2004)c | (F-actin, myosin Va)c | ND | Endosome-related organelles |
| EBV-transformed human B cell line (721.221) (Önfelt et al. 2004) | ND | ND | GPI-GFP, (HLA-Cw6-GFP, in coculture with human peripheral blood Natural Killer cells)d |
| Between neonatal rat CM and adult human EPC (Koyanagi et al. 2005) | ND | ND | Mitochondria, soluble proteins (GFP) |
| Primary cultures of rat astrocytes (Zhu et al. 2005) | F-actin, myosin Va | ND | ND |
| DC (Watkins and Salter 2005) | ND | (+)e | Calcium fluxes, surface receptors (HLA-A,B,C class I MHC)d |
| THP-1 monocytes (Watkins and Salter 2005) | F-actin | (+)e | Calcium fluxes, the fluid phase marker lucifer yellow, surface receptors (HLA-A,B,C class I MHC)d |
| Between DC and THP-1 monocytes (Watkins and Salter 2005) | ND | (+)e | Calcium fluxes |
| Human monocyte-derived macrophages (bridges with diameter ≥0.7 μm) (Önfelt et al. 2006) | F-actin, microtubules | (+)f | Mitochondria, endosome-related organelles, lysosomes |
| Human monocyte-derived macrophages (nanotubes with diameter <0.7 μm) (Önfelt et al. 2006) | F-actin | ND | Surfing Mycobacterium bovis bacillus Calmette-Guérin |
| Cos-1, XC and HEK 293 cells (Sherer et al. 2007) | F-actin | (−)b | MLV |
| Jurkat T cells (Sowinski et al. 2008) | F-actin | (−)b,e | HIV-1 protein Gag |
aOnly those publications that fulfill at least one of the listed criteria are shown
bAccessed by electron microscopy
cGurke, S., Barroso, J., Bukoreshtliev, N., Gerdes, H.-H., unpublished data
dThese molecules were shown to localize in TNT-like structures, but their intercellular transfer was not proven
eAccessed by the measurement of calcium fluxes
fProposed from the observation of a seamless transition between microtubules of the bridge with microtubular networks of both connected cells
ND: not determined