Computing the threshold of the influence of intercellular nanotubes on cell-to-cell communication integrity

We explore how the biochemical substance exchange through tunneling nanotubes (TNTs) affects the functional stability of a multicellular system. We focus on two questions: whether TNTs can either stabilize or destabilize intercellular communication governed by gap junctions (GJs)? and how to determine the threshold at which influence of TNTs destabilize GJ-mediated communication? The goal of this article is to introduce the way in which the concept of pseudospectra can be used to provide the answers.