Tunneling nanotube-like structures offer insight into how the heart's layers communicate during formation

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March 17, 2025, 4:51 PM

• •UH study finds new way to treat heart disease
• •Long, thin, channels of membranes called tunneling nanotube-like structures connect cells together
• •These structures may be a fundamental way for cells to communicate, offering new insights into heart disease development and potential treatments

New research from the University of Houston College of Pharmacy Drug Discovery Institute sheds light on the fundamental process of how the heart is formed in utero. The findings, published in Science, focus on long, thin, channels of membranes—called tunneling nanotube-like structures—that connect cells together. Wu reports the structures may be a fundamental way for cells to communicate, offering new insights into heart disease development and potential treatments.

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