Nanomedicine: Intercellular Transport of Nanomaterials is Mediated by Membrane Nanotubes In Vivo (Small 14/2016)

Cellular uptake of nanomaterials from the bloodstream and their subsequent distribution in tissue is a crucial step for diverse drug delivery approaches. On page 1882, M. Rehberg and co-workers describe the presence of microtubule-containing membrane nanotubes connecting perivascular and tissue-resident macrophages in skeletal muscle tissue. Perivascular macrophages are able to sample nanoparticles from the blood stream, which are then actively transported in the muscle within membrane nanotubes.