title: Intercellular conduits in tumours: the new social network.
abstract: The role of intercellular communication is increasingly recognized as being critical to tumoral invasion, metastasis, and development of resistance to therapy. The recent discovery of cellular protrusions - tumour microtubes - connecting cancer cells in gliomas, and tunneling nanotubes in several other forms of cancer, sheds light on a novel mechanism for molecular networking. Interrupting and disrupting vital lines of intercellular cross-talk via these membranous cellular tubes has strong potential as a novel form of cancer-directed therapy.
authors.affiliation: University of Minnesota, Division of Hematology, Oncology and Transplantation, Minneapolis.
authors.forename: Emil
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lou
keywords: brain tumor networks; cellular protrusions; glioblastoma; intercellular communication; tumour microtubes; tunneling nanotubes