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Telocytes pp 115–126Cite as

The Telocyte Subtypes

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Part of the book series: Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology ((AEMB,volume 913))

Abstract

Several cells are endowed in the interstitial space of the connective tissue; among them, a peculiar type has been recently described and named telocyte (TC). The increasing interest on this cell type has allowed identifying it in almost all the organs. All TCs have a proper ultrastructural feature that makes them undoubtedly recognizable under the transmission electron microscope (TEM). On the contrary, a complex often confusing picture comes out from the immunohistochemical investigations either due to the technical procedures used or, intriguingly, to the possibility that diverse subtypes of TC might exist.

Among the several markers used to label the TC, the most common are the CD34 and the PDGFRalpha, and, in many organs, the TC expresses both these markers. An exception is represented by the human urinary bladder where none of the TC, as recognized under the TEM, was double labelled. All the data indicate that TCs show immunohistochemical differences depending on the organ where they are located and/or the animal species.

On the basis of their ubiquitous distribution, TCs are unanimously considered organizers of the connective tissue because of their ability to form 3-D networks. Close to this common role, numerous other roles have been attributed to the TC. Indeed, each of the TC subtype likely plays an own organ-/tissue-specific role contributing to different aspects of physiological regulation in the various anatomical niches they occupy.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Research Unit of Histology and Embryology, University of Florence, Viale Pieraccini 6, Florence, 50134, Italy

    Maria-Giuliana Vannucchi MD, PhD & Maria-Simonetta Faussone-Pellegrini

Authors
  1. Maria-Giuliana Vannucchi MD, PhD
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  2. Maria-Simonetta Faussone-Pellegrini
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Correspondence to Maria-Simonetta Faussone-Pellegrini .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University Medical School, Shanghai, China

    Xiangdong Wang

  2. Department of Cellular and Molecular Med, Carol Davila Univ of Medicine&Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania

    Dragos Cretoiu

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Vannucchi, MG., Faussone-Pellegrini, MS. (2016). The Telocyte Subtypes. In: Wang, X., Cretoiu, D. (eds) Telocytes. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 913. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-1061-3_7

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