Correlative cryo-electron microscopy reveals the structure of TNTs in neuronal cells

Anna Sartori-Rupp, Diégo Cordero Cervantes, Anna Pepe, Karine Gousset, Elise Delage, Simon Corroyer-Dulmont, Christine Schmitt, Jacomina Krijnse-Locker and Chiara Zurzolo ()
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Anna Sartori-Rupp: Institut Pasteur, Unit of Technology and Service Ultra-structural Bio-Imaging
Diégo Cordero Cervantes: Institut Pasteur, Membrane Traffic and Pathogenesis
Anna Pepe: Institut Pasteur, Membrane Traffic and Pathogenesis
Karine Gousset: Institut Pasteur, Membrane Traffic and Pathogenesis
Elise Delage: Institut Pasteur, Membrane Traffic and Pathogenesis
Simon Corroyer-Dulmont: Institut Pasteur, Unit of Technology and Service Ultra-structural Bio-Imaging
Christine Schmitt: Institut Pasteur, Unit of Technology and Service Ultra-structural Bio-Imaging
Jacomina Krijnse-Locker: Institut Pasteur, Unit of Technology and Service Ultra-structural Bio-Imaging
Chiara Zurzolo: Institut Pasteur, Membrane Traffic and Pathogenesis

Nature Communications, 2019, vol. 10, issue 1, 1-16

Abstract: Abstract The orchestration of intercellular communication is essential for multicellular organisms. One mechanism by which cells communicate is through long, actin-rich membranous protrusions called tunneling nanotubes (TNTs), which allow the intercellular transport of various cargoes, between the cytoplasm of distant cells in vitro and in vivo. With most studies failing to establish their structural identity and examine whether they are truly open-ended organelles, there is a need to study the anatomy of TNTs at the nanometer resolution. Here, we use correlative FIB-SEM, light- and cryo-electron microscopy approaches to elucidate the structural organization of neuronal TNTs. Our data indicate that they are composed of a bundle of open-ended individual tunneling nanotubes (iTNTs) that are held together by threads labeled with anti-N-Cadherin antibodies. iTNTs are filled with parallel actin bundles on which different membrane-bound compartments and mitochondria appear to transfer. These results provide evidence that neuronal TNTs have distinct structural features compared to other cell protrusions.

Date: 2019
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-08178-7

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