Abstract

Telocytes (TCs) are CD34-positive interstitial cells that have long cytoplasmic projections, called telopodes; they have been identified in several organs and in various species. These cells establish a complex communication network between different stromal and epithelial cell types, and there is growing evidence that they play a key role in physiology and pathology. In many tissues, TC network impairment has been implicated in the onset and progression of pathological conditions, which makes the study of TCs of great interest for the development of novel therapies. In this review, we summarise the main methods involved in the characterisation of these cells as well as their inherent difficulties and then discuss the functional assays that are used to uncover the role of TCs in normal and pathological conditions, from the most traditional to the most recent. Furthermore, we provide future perspectives in the study of TCs, especially regarding the establishment of more precise markers, commercial lineages and means for drug delivery and genetic editing that directly target TCs.

中文翻译：

---

特洛细胞：当前的研究方法、挑战和未来前景

摘要

特洛细胞 (TC) 是 CD34 阳性间质细胞，具有长的细胞质突起，称为端足细胞；已在多个器官和多个物种中发现了它们。这些细胞在不同的基质细胞和上皮细胞类型之间建立了复杂的通信网络，并且越来越多的证据表明它们在生理学和病理学中发挥着关键作用。在许多组织中，TC 网络损伤与病理状况的发生和进展有关，这使得 TC 的研究对于新疗法的开发产生了极大的兴趣。在这篇综述中，我们总结了这些细胞表征所涉及的主要方法及其固有的困难，然后讨论了用于揭示 TC 在正常和病理条件下作用的功能测定，从最传统的到最先进的最近的。此外，我们还提供了TC研究的未来前景，特别是在建立更精确的标记、商业谱系以及直接针对TC的药物输送和基因编辑手段方面。