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Membrane microparticles: two sides of the coin
Bénédicte Hugel1, M Carmen Martínez, Corinne Kunzelmann
1Institut d'Hématologie et d'Immunologie, Université Louis Pasteur, Faculté de Médecine, Strasbourg, France.
Physiology (Bethesda, Md.)
|January 18, 2005
Abstract:
Microparticles are plasma membrane-derived vesicles shed from stimulated cells, in the broad sense of the term. Their presence is interpreted by proximal or remote cells in fundamental physiological processes including intercellular communication, hemostasis, and immunity. On the other hand, variations of their number or characteristics are frequently observed in pathophysiological situations.