Cancer ResearchHuman Cells Can Pass Damaged DNA Directly to Neighbors Through Nanotube Bridges
Researchers at UT Southwestern discovered that when human cells suffer genomic damage — from radiation, drug treatment, or CRISPR cutting — fragments of chromosomal DNA that escape into the cytoplasm can travel through nanotube-like connections directly into neighboring cells. These transferred DNA fragments are not degraded; they persist and function in recipient cells, even conferring drug resistance. The process works across multiple cell types, including normal and cancerous cells, and requires direct physical contact. This finding introduces a horizontal gene transfer-like mechanism in mammals, suggesting that genome instability can spread non-cell-autonomously between cells sharing a tissue environment.
