Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Chauveau A
PROVIDER: S-EPMC2851811 | biostudies-other | 2010 Mar
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 20100308 12
Membrane nanotubes are membranous tethers that physically link cell bodies over long distances. Here, we present evidence that nanotubes allow human natural killer (NK) cells to interact functionally with target cells over long distances. Nanotubes were formed when NK cells contacted target cells and moved apart. The frequency of nanotube formation was dependent on the number of receptor/ligand interactions and increased on NK cell activation. Most importantly, NK cell nanotubes contained a subm ...[more]