Long-distance communication between laryngeal carcinoma cells

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 9; no. 6; p. e99196
• Main Authors: Antanavičiūtė, Ieva, Rysevaitė, Kristina, Liutkevičius, Vykintas, Marandykina, Alina, Rimkutė, Lina, Sveikatienė, Renata, Uloza, Virgilijus, Skeberdis, Vytenis Arvydas
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 19-06-2014; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Actin; Actins - metabolism; Biology and Life Sciences; Biotechnology; Breast cancer; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell - genetics; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell - metabolism; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell - pathology; Cardiology; Cell adhesion & migration; Cell Communication - genetics; Cell culture; Cell cycle; Cell signaling; Communication; Connexin 43; Connexin 43 - metabolism; Double-stranded RNA; Electric bridges; Electrical junctions; Electrical properties; Fibroblasts; Fluorescence; Fluorescent Dyes; Fluorescent indicators; Gap junctions; Health sciences; Humans; Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; Laryngeal cancer; Laryngeal carcinoma; Laryngeal Neoplasms - genetics; Laryngeal Neoplasms - metabolism; Laryngeal Neoplasms - pathology; Medicine and Health Sciences; Membrane Proteins - metabolism; Membrane vesicles; Metabolism; Microtubules - metabolism; Mitochondria; Mitochondria - metabolism; Mitochondria - pathology; Mitochondrial DNA; Molecular weight; Nanotechnology; Nanotubes; Nanotubes - chemistry; Optical Imaging; Organelles; Otolaryngology; Permeability; Physiology; Polymerization; Proteins; Ribonucleic acid; RNA; RNA, Small Interfering - genetics; RNA, Small Interfering - metabolism; Second messengers; siRNA; Squamous cell carcinoma; Stem cells; Synchronism; Synchronization; Tissue Culture Techniques; Tissues; Tubes; Tubulin; Tumors; Tunneling; Vesicles
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0099196

Tunneling nanotubes and epithelial bridges are recently discovered new forms of intercellular communication between remote cells allowing their electrical synchronization, transfer of second messengers and even membrane vesicles and organelles. In the present study, we demonstrate for the first time in primary cell cultures prepared from human laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) samples that these cells communicate with each other over long distances (up to 1 mm) through membranous tunneling tubes (TTs), which can be open-ended or contain functional gap junctions formed of connexin 43. We found two types of TTs, containing F-actin alone or F-actin and α-tubulin. In the LSCC cell culture, we identified 5 modes of TT formation and performed quantitative assessment of their electrical properties and permeability to fluorescent dyes of different molecular weight and charge. We show that TTs, containing F-actin and α-tubulin, transport mitochondria and accommodate small DAPI-positive vesicles suggesting possible transfer of genetic material through TTs. We confirmed this possibility by demonstrating that even TTs, containing gap junctions, were capable of transmitting double-stranded small interfering RNA. To support the idea that the phenomenon of TTs is not only typical of cell cultures, we have examined microsections of samples obtained from human LSCC tissues and identified intercellular structures similar to those found in the primary LSCC cell culture.