Control of long-distance cell-to-cell communication and autophagosome transfer in squamous cell carcinoma via tunneling nanotubes.

ABSTRACT: Tunneling nanotubes (TnTs) are thin channels that temporally connect nearby cells allowing the cell-to-cell trafficking of biomolecules and organelles. The presence or absence of TnTs in human neoplasms and the mechanisms of TnT assembly remains largely unexplored. In this study, we have identified TnTs in tumor cells derived from squamous cell carcinomas (SCC) cultured under bi-dimensional and tri-dimensional conditions and also in human SCC tissues. Our study demonstrates that TnTs are not specific of epithelial or mesenchymal phenotypes and allow the trafficking of endosomal/lysosomal vesicles, mitochondria, and autophagosomes between both types of cells. We have identified focal adhesion kinase (FAK) as a key molecule required for TnT assembly via a mechanism involving the MMP-2 metall

SUBMITTER: Saenz-de-Santa-Maria I 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5400557 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature