Telocytes, exosomes, gap junctions and the cytoskeleton: the makings of a primitive nervous system?

Abstract

Telocytes (TCs) form a remarkable new cell species found in many types of tis-sue. They were discovered by Professor Laurentiu-Mircea Popescu of Roumania in 2005 (Popescu et al., 2005), and are characterized by having very small cell bodies (consisting of a nucleus and a small amount of cytoplasm) and “extremely long and thin ” tubular processes called telopodes (up to 100 micrometers long, yet only 20–200 nanometers wide). Telopodes consist of long thin tubes (called podomers) interspersed with short dilations (called podoms) that have the appearance of axonal boutons