Journal of cellular and molecular medicine
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Telocytes (TC), a cell population located in the connective tissue of many organs of humans and laboratory mammals, are characterized by a small cell body and extremely long and thin processes. Different TC subpopulations share unique ultrastructural features, but express different markers. In the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, cells with features of TC were seen to be CD34-positive/c-kit-negative and several roles have been proposed for them. ⋯ ICC were c-kit-positive and CD34/PDGFRα-negative. In conclusion, in the human GI tract the TC are PDGFRα-positive and, therefore, might correspond to the FLC. We also hypothesize that in human gut, there are different TC subpopulations probably playing region-specific roles.