Figure 4:

(With permission from Sontheimer, Nature, 2015) Osswald et al., 2015 identified a “syncytium” of glioma cells that are resistant to radiation therapy. The cellular mechanism behind these networks was due in part to Cx43 pores. Cx43 is a protein important in the formation of gap junction channels between cell membranes and is normally expressed in astrocytes. However, as seen in these cell-cell contacts, Cx43 is harnessed to form microtubule highways to help spread effector molecules like Ca²⁺ and even provide a damaged cell with its own nucleus.