德克萨斯大学Peter Ly课题组取得一项新突破。他们的研究显示，基因组不稳定触发了人类细胞间的细胞间DNA转移。相关论文于2026年5月19日发表于国际顶尖学术期刊《细胞》杂志上。

该课题组研究人员发现细胞质DNA通过接触依赖的、基于细胞骨架的纳米管结构连接邻近的人类细胞进行细胞间转移。不同程度的基因组不稳定性——包括暴露于有丝分裂纺锤体毒物、电离辐射和Cas9诱导的染色体断裂——促进了纳米管介导的癌细胞和非癌细胞中的DNA转移。转移的DNA片段作为功能性染色体外遗传元件在受体宿主基因组中稳定遗传，从而赋予受体细胞可遗传的表型特征。他们的发现揭示了一种水平基因转移机制，通过这种机制，直接的细胞间接触可以传播基因组不稳定性并重塑哺乳动物基因组。

据悉，哺乳动物基因组被保护在间期核仁的范围内。然而，基因组的不稳定性可引发核DNA错定位到微核内的细胞质或作为碎片化的染色体。除了激活细胞自主信号程序之外，这些细胞质DNA是否会对附近的细胞产生非细胞自主的后果尚不清楚。

附：英文原文

Title: Genome instability triggers intercellular DNA transfer between human cells

Author: Elizabeth G. Maurais, Alice Mazzagatti, Yu-Fen Lin, Maria Narozna, Qing Hu, Rashmi Dahiya, Derek Santiago-Ferrer, Conor P. Herlihy, Mary Krebs, Nikoleta Pateraki, Evlampia Parcharidou, Stamatis Papathanasiou, Brian J. Beliveau, Gary J. Gorbsky, Isidro Cortés-Ciriano, Peter Ly

Issue&Volume: 2026-05-19

Abstract: The mammalian genome is safeguarded within the confines of the interphase nucleus. However, genomic instability can trigger the mislocalization of nuclear DNA to the cytoplasm within micronuclei or as fragmented chromosomes. Beyond activating cell-autonomous signaling programs, whether such cytoplasmic DNA can elicit non-cell-autonomous consequences to nearby cells remains unclear. Here, we show that cytoplasmic DNAs undergo intercellular transfer through contact-dependent, cytoskeleton-based nanotube structures connecting adjacent human cells. Diverse sources of genomic instability—including exposure to mitotic spindle poisons, ionizing radiation, and Cas9-induced chromosome breakage—promote nanotube-mediated DNA transfer in both cancerous and non-cancerous cells. Transferred DNA fragments are stably inherited as functional extrachromosomal genetic elements in the recipient host genome, thereby conferring heritable phenotypic traits to the recipient cell. Our findings uncover a horizontal gene transfer-like mechanism through which direct cell-cell contact can propagate genomic instability and reshape mammalian genomes.

DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2026.04.041

Source: https://www.cell.com/cell/abstract/S0092-8674(26)00508-8

期刊信息

Cell：《细胞》，创刊于1974年。隶属于细胞出版社，最新IF：66.85

官方网址：https://www.cell.com/

投稿链接：https://www.editorialmanager.com/cell/default.aspx