Table of Contents
Naturally occurring and stress induced tubular structures from mammalian cells, a survival mechanism
Yonnie Wu1, Richard C Laughlin1David C Henry1, Darryl E Krueger2, JoAn S Hudson3, Cheng-Yi Kuan4, Jian He5, Jason Reppert5 and Jeffrey P Tomkins1
1Department of Genetics and Biochemistry, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina, 29634, USA
2Department of Biological Science, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina, 29634, USA
3Electron Microscopy Facility, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina, 29634, USA
4Department of Biosystems Engineering, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina, 29634, USA
5Department of Physics and Astronomy, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina, 29634, USA
BMC Cell Biology 2007,
8:36. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.
Abstract
Background
Tubular shaped mammalian cells in response to dehydration have not
been previously reported. This may be due to the invisibility of these
cells in aqueous solution, and because sugars and salts added to the
cell culture for manipulation of the osmotic conditions inhibit
transformation of normal cells into tubular shaped structures.
Results
We report the transformation of normal spherical mammalian cells
into tubular shaped structures in response to stress. We have termed
these transformed structures ‘straw cells’ which we have associated
with a variety of human tissue types, including fresh, post mortem and
frozen lung, liver, skin, and heart. We have also documented the
presence of straw cells in bovine brain and prostate tissues of mice.
The number of straw cells in heart, lung tissues, and collapsed straw
cells in urine increases with the age of the mammal. Straw cells were
also reproduced in vitro from human cancer cells (THP1,
CACO2, and MCF7) and mouse stem cells (D1 and adipose D1) by
dehydrating cultured cells. The tubular center of the straw cells is
much smaller than the original cell; houses condensed organelles and
have filamentous extensions that are covered with microscopic hair-like
structures and circular openings. When rehydrated, the filaments uptake
water rapidly. The straw cell walls, have a range of 120 nm to 200 nm
and are composed of sulfated-glucose polymers and glycosylated acidic
proteins. The transformation from normal cell to straw cells takes 5 to
8 hr in open-air. This process is characterized by an increase in
metabolic activity. When rehydrated, the straw cells regain their
normal spherical shape and begin to divide in 10 to 15 days. Like
various types of microbial spores, straw cells are resistant to harsh
environmental conditions such as UV-C radiation.
Conclusion
Straw cells are specialized cellular structures and not artifacts
from spontaneous polymerization, which are generated in response to
stress conditions, like dehydration. The disintegrative, mobile,
disruptive and ubiquitous nature of straw cells makes this a possible
physiological process that may be involved in human health, longevity,
and various types of diseases such as cancer.