Telocytes in skeletal, cardiac and smooth muscle interstitium: morphological and functional aspects.

Telocytes in skeletal, cardiac and smooth muscle interstitium: morphological and functional aspects. Histol Histopathol. 2018 Apr 25;:11994 Authors: Marini M, Rosa I, Ibba-Manneschi L, Manetti M Abstract Telocytes (TCs) represent a new distinct type of cells found in the stromal compartment of many organs, including the skeletal, cardiac and smooth muscles. TCs are morphologically defined as interstitial cells with a small cellular body from which arise very long (up to hundreds of micrometers) and thin moniliform processes (named telopodes) featuring the alternation of slender segments (called podomers) and small dilated portions (called podoms) accommodating some organelles. Although these stromal cells are mainly characterized by their ultrastructural traits, in the last few years TCs have been increasingly studied for their immunophenotypes, microRNA profiles, and gene expression and proteomic signatures. By their long-distance spreading telopodes, TCs build a three-dimensional network throughout the whole stromal space and communicate with each other and neighboring cells through homocellular and heterocellular junctions, respectively. Moreover, increasing evidence suggests that TCs may exert paracrine functions being able to transfer genetic information and signaling molecules to other cells via the release of different types of extracellular vesicles. A close relationship between TCs and stem/progenitor cell niches has also be...
Source: Histology and Histopathology - Category: Cytology Tags: Histol Histopathol Source Type: research