Abstract
Telocytes (TCs) are CD34-positive interstitial cells that have long cytoplasmic projections, called telopodes; they have been identified in several organs and in various species. These cells establish a complex communication network between different stromal and epithelial cell types, and there is growing evidence that they play a key role in physiology and pathology. In many tissues, TC network impairment has been implicated in the onset and progression of pathological conditions, which makes the study of TCs of great interest for the development of novel therapies. In this review, we summarise the main methods involved in the characterisation of these cells as well as their inherent difficulties and then discuss the functional assays that are used to uncover the role of TCs in normal and pathological conditions, from the most traditional to the most recent. Furthermore, we provide future perspectives in the study of TCs, especially regarding the establishment of more precise markers, commercial lineages and means for drug delivery and genetic editing that directly target TCs.
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Abbreviations
- ApoE:
-
Apolipoprotein E
- BMP4:
-
Bone morphogenetic protein 4
- CAVD:
-
Calcific aortic valve disease
- CD31:
-
Cluster of differentiation 31
- CD34:
-
Cluster of differentiation 34
- CD81:
-
Cluster of differentiation 81
- CD90:
-
Cluster of differentiation 90
- Cdip1:
-
Cell death inducing p53 target 1
- CREB1:
-
CAMP response element binding protein 1
- CRISPR-Cas9:
-
Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats–CRISPR associated protein 9
- CSCs:
-
Cardiac stem cells
- CTGF:
-
Connective tissue growth factor
- Dkk3:
-
Dickkopf-related protein 3
- DUOX2:
-
Dual oxidase 2
- ECM:
-
Extracellular matrix
- EGF:
-
Epidermal growth factor
- EVs:
-
Extracellular vesicles
- Foxl1:
-
Forkhead box L1
- HCC:
-
Hepatocellular carcinoma
- HGF:
-
Hepatocyte growth factor
- IL-6:
-
Interleukin 6
- lncRNA:
-
Long noncoding RNA
- LPS:
-
Lipopolysaccharide
- MCP-1:
-
Monocyte chemoattractant protein-1
- MHY14:
-
Myosin heavy chain 14
- MIP-1α:
-
Macrophage inflammatory protein 1α
- MIP-2:
-
Macrophage inflammatory protein-2
- miR-146a-5p:
-
MicroRNA 146a-5p
- miRNA-21-5p:
-
MicroRNA 21-5p
- miR-942-3p:
-
MicroRNA 942-3p
- MMP9:
-
Matrix metalloproteinase 9
- MSCs:
-
Mesenchymal stem cells
- MYL9:
-
Myosin regulatory light polypeptide 9
- MyoD:
-
Myoblast determination protein 1
- Pax7:
-
Paired box protein 7
- PDGFβ:
-
Platelet-derived growth factor subunit β
- PDGFRα:
-
Platelet-derived growth factor receptor α
- PDGFRβ:
-
Platelet-derived growth factor receptor β
- qPCR:
-
Quantitative polymerase chain reaction
- Rosa-mTmG:
-
ROSA26-membrane-tdT-membrane-EGFP
- scRNA-seq:
-
Single-cell RNA sequencing
- SDF-1:
-
Stromal cell-derived factor 1
- SEM:
-
Scanning electron microscopy
- sFRP1:
-
Secreted Frizzled-related protein 1
- SNHG16:
-
Small nucleolar RNA host gene 16
- SPRR1A:
-
Small proline-rich repeat protein 1A
- TAGLN:
-
Transgelin
- TC:
-
Telocyte
- TEM:
-
Transmission electron microscopy
- TGFβ1:
-
Transforming growth factor β1
- TP:
-
Telopode
- VEGF:
-
Vascular endothelial growth factor
- Wnt:
-
Wingless-related integration site
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Acknowledgements
We thank FAPESP and CNPq for the funding and the researchers of the School of Chemical Engineering, University of Birmingham, as well as of INFABIC lab at the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP).
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This work was supported by FAPESP (São Paulo Research Foundation) (contract number 2021/02303-7 (to HFC)) and CNPq (Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development) (contract numbers 465699/2014-6 (to HCF) and 104276/2023-1 (to BDAS)).
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Sanches, B.D.A., Teófilo, F.B.S., Brunet, M.Y. et al. Telocytes: current methods of research, challenges and future perspectives. Cell Tissue Res 396, 141–155 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00441-024-03888-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00441-024-03888-5