String-like “membrane nanotube” connections can form between those T-cells that bump into each other and carry proteins between the two cells, which could help explain how the HIV virus infects human immune cells so quickly and effectively.

This indicates that there may be “as-yet-undiscovered ways that these types of cells communicate with each other inside the human body,” said Professor Dan Davis from Imperial College London.

This kind of link has previously been observed forming between other kinds of cells, including brain cells and other kinds of immune system cells.