On the issue of telocytes of skin

Abstract

This manuscript is devoted to the description of a new population of interstitial cells – telocytes discovered by L.M. Popescu and M.S. Faussone-Pellegrini. Later telocytes were found in the dermis, where they perform an important metabolic function and maintain homeostasis. Telocytes are small cells with a large elongated nucleus and a small amount of cytoplasm, which contains long cellular prolongations made of thin (podomeres, 40–100 nm) and thick (pods, 200–500 nm) segments – telopodes. Based on the results of morphological studies, it was possible to reliably differentiate telocytes from fibroblasts. During immunostaining they express CD34 and PDGFRα. Nevertheless, despite the numerous studies carried out regarding the role of telocytes, their function in the skin remains unclear and requires further investigations.