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Detection and Quantification of Tunneling Nanotubes Using 3D Volume View Images
Published on: August 31, 2022
Tunnelling nanotubes: a highway for prion spreading?
Karine Gousset1, Chiara Zurzolo
1Institut Pasteur, Unité de Trafic Membranaire et Pathogénèse, Paris, France.
Prion
|May 28, 2009
Summary
Tunnelling nanotubes (TNTs) facilitate the spread of prion diseases between cells. These membrane bridges are crucial for transporting prions from the periphery to the central nervous system (CNS).
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cell Biology
- Prion Biology
Background:
- Tunnelling nanotubes (TNTs) are membrane bridges facilitating intercellular transport.
- Prion diseases involve the spread of misfolded prion proteins (PrPSc).
- The role of TNTs in prion spreading remains largely unexplored.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the potential role of TNTs in prion spreading.
- To examine PrPSc trafficking through TNTs between different cell types.
- To understand the contribution of TNTs to prion neuroinvasion.
Main Methods:
- Co-culture of neuronal cells and dendritic cells.
- Microscopy techniques to visualize TNT formation and PrPSc transport.
- Infection assays to assess prion transmission.
Main Results:
- TNTs form between neuronal cells and between dendritic cells and neurons.
- Endogenous and exogenous PrPSc traffic through TNTs between infected and non-infected cells.
- Prion infection transmission from dendritic cells to neurons is dependent on TNT formation.
Conclusions:
- TNTs play a significant role in intercellular prion spreading.
- TNTs are a potential route for prion transport from the periphery to the CNS.
- Targeting TNTs could be a strategy to prevent prion neuroinvasion.
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