Metabolic Cooperation between Cells

Publisher Summary Metabolic cooperation is the exchange of molecules among cells through permeable junctions formed at sites of cell contact. The phenomenon is alternatively termed “contact feeding” and is different from cross feeding, where material is transferred from one cell to another via the extracellular medium. This chapter reviews the various techniques used to demonstrate metabolic cooperation and the evidence that these techniques share a common mechanistic basis. It focuses on the techniques based on the phenotypic modification of cells consequent upon cell contact. The chapter also discusses the properties of permeable junctions, the factors controlling their formation, and the possible functions of metabolic cooperation in vivo . Metabolic cooperation has features that make it an attractive candidate for the transmission of many kinds of intercellular signals.