ArticleeLife2023
Syncytin-mediated open-ended membrane tubular connections facilitate the intercellular transfer of cargos including Cas9 protein.
Article in eLife, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
20 citing papers in PubMed, 22 citations in OpenAlex.
- Regulation and function of specialized membrane protrusions in intercellular communication.Nature reviews. Molecular cell biology · 2026Review
- Extracellular Vesicles in Cardiovascular Disease: Intercellular Signaling, Liquid Biopsy Biomarkers, and Therapeutic Translation.Circulation research · 2026Review
- Article
- Breaking cellular boundaries: molecular mechanisms of tunneling nanotube formation and fusion.Biochemical Society transactions · 2026Review
- Membrane-associated Rhes-Slc4a7 complex orchestrates tunneling nanotube formation and mutant Huntingtin spread.Science advances · 2026Article
- p62 sorts Lupus La and selected microRNAs into breast cancer-derived exosomes.The Journal of cell biology · 2026Article
- Efficient cellular transformation via protein delivery through the protrusion-derived extracellular vesicles.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Spectrum and Impact of Mitochondrial DNA Mutations in Ovarian Cancer.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Beyond synapses: cytoplasmic connections in brain function and evolution.Biological reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society · 2025Review
- Exosomes in cancer nanomedicine: biotechnological advancements and innovations.Molecular cancer · 2025Review
- Extracellular vesicles for the delivery of gene therapy.Nature reviews bioengineering · 2025Article
- Intercellular mRNA transfer alters the human pluripotent stem cell state.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025Article
- Unveiling the power of mitochondrial transfer in cancer progression: a perspective in ovarian cancer.Journal of ovarian research · 2024Review
- Mechanical properties of intercellular tunneling nanotubes formed by different mechanisms.Heliyon · 2024Review
- Chandipura viral glycoprotein (CNV-G) promotes Gectosome generation and enables delivery of intracellular therapeutics.Molecular therapy : the journal of the American Society of Gene Therapy · 2024Article
- Inter-cellular mRNA Transfer Alters Human Pluripotent Stem Cell State.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2024Article
- Intercellular transmission of alpha-synuclein.Frontiers in molecular neuroscience · 2024Review
- Review
- Article
- Breaking free: endocytosis and endosomal escape of extracellular vesicles.Extracellular vesicles and circulating nucleic acids · 2023Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Much attention has been focused on the possibility that cytoplasmic proteins and RNA may be conveyed between cells in extracellular vesicles (EVs) and tunneling nanotube (TNT) structures. Here, we set up two quantitative delivery reporters to study cargo transfer between cells. We found that EVs are internalized by reporter cells but do not efficiently deliver functional Cas9 protein to the nucleus. In contrast, donor and acceptor cells co-cultured to permit cell contact resulted in a highly effective transfer. Among our tested donor and acceptor cell pairs, HEK293T and MDA-MB-231 recorded optimal intercellular transfer. Depolymerization of F-actin greatly decreased Cas9 transfer, whereas inhibitors of endocytosis or knockdown of genes implicated in this process had little effect on transfer. Imaging results suggest that intercellular transfer of cargos occurred through open-ended membrane tubular connections. In contrast, cultures consisting only of HEK293T cells form close-ended tubular connections ineffective in cargo transfer. Depletion of human endogenous fusogens, syncytins, especially syncytin-2 in MDA-MB-231 cells, significantly reduced Cas9 transfer. Full-length mouse syncytin, but not truncated mutants, rescued the effect of depletion of human syncytins on Cas9 transfer. Mouse syncytin overexpression in HEK293T cells partially facilitated Cas9 transfer among HEK293T cells. These findings suggest that syncytin may serve as the fusogen responsible for the formation of an open-ended connection between cells.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.