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The term Membrane nanotubes, membrane nanotubules or cytoneme has been applied to protrusions that extend from the plasma membrane that enable different animal cells to touch over long distances, sometimes over 100 μm between T cells.〔 Two types of structures have been called nanotubes. The first type are less than 0.7 micrometres in diameter, contain actin and carry portions of plasma membrane between cells in both directions. The second type are larger (>0.7 μm), contain both actin and microtubules and can carry components of the cytoplasm between cells, such as vesicles and organelles. These structures may be involved in cell-to-cell communication, transfer of nucleic acids between cells in a tissue, and the spread of pathogens or toxins such as HIV and prions. Membrane nanotubes were first described in a 1999 ''Cell'' article examining the development of ''Drosophila melanogaster'' wing imaginal discs. More recently, a ''Science'' article published in 2004 described structures that connected various types of immune cell together, as well as connections between cells in tissue culture. Structures, called plasmodesmata, have been identified that do function as channels that interconnect plant cells and stromules interconnect plastids. Vesicular transport in membrane nanotubes has been modeled utilizing a continuum approach. ==References== 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Membrane nanotube」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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