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Phoenix666 writes:

Nanotubes in the Eye that Help Us See:

A new mechanism of blood redistribution that is essential for the proper functioning of the adult retina has just been discovered in vivo by researchers at the University of Montreal Hospital Research Centre (CRCHUM).

[...] Wrapped around the capillaries are pericytes, cells that have the ability to control the amount of blood passing through a single capillary simply by squeezing and releasing it.

"Using a microscopy technique to visualize vascular changes in living mice, we showed that pericytes project very thin tubes, called inter-pericyte tunnelling nanotubes, to communicate with other pericytes located in distant capillaries," said Alarcon-Martinez. "Through these nanotubes, the pericytes can talk to each other to deliver blood where it is most needed."

To preserve vision, new treatment strategies should protect these structures after stroke or other crises restrict oxygen to the retina.

Original Submission