Nanotubes, the fast track to treatment of Dent disease?
Studies in mice have suggested bone marrow transplantation as a strategy to correct the endocytic dysfunction of the proximal tubules in renal Fanconi syndrome, yet the mode of action has remained mysterious. Using a mouse model of Dent disease, Gabriel et al. now show that rescue of the resorptive capacity in the diseased kidney involves cell-to-cell contact between engrafted and host cells via nanotubes, cellular projections that enable transfer of wild-type activity into mutant cells of the proximal tubule.
Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin, Germany. Electronic address: willnow@mdc-berlin.de.
Thomas E
TE
Willnow
D000818:Animals; D057973:Dent Disease; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005198:Fanconi Syndrome; D007687:Kidney Tubules, Proximal; D051379:Mice; D043942:Nanotubes