Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 26, 2026

Characterization of Immune Cell-derived Extracellular Vesicles and Studying Functional Impact on Cell Environment
10:09

Characterization of Immune Cell-derived Extracellular Vesicles and Studying Functional Impact on Cell Environment

Published on: June 2, 2020

Highlights of a new type of intercellular communication: microvesicle-based information transfer

E Pap1, E Pállinger, M Pásztói

  • 1Department of Genetics, Cell- and Immunobiology, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary. nyierna@dgci.sote.hu

Inflammation Research : Official Journal of the European Histamine Research Society ... [Et Al.]
|January 10, 2009
PubMed

Insights

Microvesicles (MVs) are cell fragments involved in intercellular communication. This overview explores their roles in health and disease, highlighting their potential as biomarkers and therapeutic targets.

Area of Science:

  • Cell Biology
  • Biochemistry
  • Pathophysiology

Background:

  • Microvesicles (MVs) are cell fragments released during apoptosis or activation.
  • MVs mediate intercellular communication, impacting physiological and pathological processes.
  • Their roles are established in immunity, pregnancy, coagulation, and cancer.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To provide an overview of microvesicular communication.
  • To highlight the significance of MVs in intercellular signaling.
  • To discuss the potential of MVs as biomarkers and therapeutic agents.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review and synthesis of current research on microvesicles.
  • Analysis of MVs' involvement in various biological systems.
  • Exploration of MVs' diagnostic and therapeutic potential.

Main Results:

  • MVs are integral to intercellular information transfer.
  • MVs play roles in immune modulation, hemostasis, and cancer progression.
  • MVs show promise as prognostic markers and drug delivery systems.

Conclusions:

  • Microvesicular communication is a critical biological process.
  • MVs offer potential for novel diagnostic and therapeutic strategies.
  • Further research into MVs will advance cell communication understanding.

More Related Videos

Tracking miRNA Release into Extracellular Vesicles using Flow Cytometry07:29

Tracking miRNA Release into Extracellular Vesicles using Flow Cytometry

Published on: October 6, 2023

Uptake of Fluorescent Labeled Small Extracellular Vesicles In Vitro and in Spinal Cord09:01

Uptake of Fluorescent Labeled Small Extracellular Vesicles In Vitro and in Spinal Cord

Published on: May 23, 2021

Related Concept Videos

Overview of Exosomes01:36

Overview of Exosomes

Exosomes are stable, lipid bilayer-enclosed vesicles capable of crossing biological barriers. They can carry a wide range of molecules required for intercellular communication. Once exosomes are released from the cell where they originated, they enter a recipient cell through various pathways such as fusion, receptor-mediated endocytosis, macropinocytosis, and phagocytosis.
Stahl et al. discovered exosomes in 1983, but the exosomes were initially considered waste products released from the...
Introduction to Membrane Traffic01:44

Introduction to Membrane Traffic

The ER, Golgi apparatus, endosomes, and lysosomes work in tandem to modify, sort, and package proteins and lipids. An integrated membrane trafficking network facilitates the back and forth shuttling of molecules within different organelles in the same cell or across the cell membrane.
The transport of soluble and membrane proteins is mediated by transport vesicles that collect cargo from one cellular compartment and deliver it to another by fusing with the target organelle membrane. The Rab...
Vesicular Trasport: Endocytosis, Transcytosis and Exocytosis01:18

Vesicular Trasport: Endocytosis, Transcytosis and Exocytosis

Vesicular transport is a cellular process that encompasses the engulfment of particles or dissolved substances by cells. It involves endocytosis, transcytosis, and exocytosis.
Endocytosis is a cellular mechanism that involves the inward folding of the cell membrane to create vesicles that capture and transport large drug molecules. This process comprises two distinct methods: pinocytosis (often referred to as "cell drinking") and phagocytosis (often referred to as "cell eating"). Pinocytosis is...
Vesicular Tubular Clusters01:45

Vesicular Tubular Clusters

After budding out from the ER membrane, some COPII vesicles lose their coat and fuse with one another to form larger vesicles and interconnected tubules called vesicular tubular clusters or VTCs. These clusters constitute a compartment at the ER-Golgi interface known as ERGIC (Endoplasmic Reticulum Golgi Intermediate Compartment). The ERGIC is a mobile membrane-bound cargo transport system that sorts proteins secreted from ER and delivers them to the Golgi.
With the help of motor proteins such...
Intralumenal Vesicles and Multivesicular Bodies01:38

Intralumenal Vesicles and Multivesicular Bodies

Intraluminal vesicles (ILVs) are small vesicles 50-80 nm in diameter formed during the maturation of early endosomes. A specialized endosome containing numerous ILVs is called a multivesicular body (MVB). ILVs contain internalized molecules such as antigens, nucleic acids, proteins, and metabolites. Some of these molecules are released from the MVBs inside exosomes and are transported to other cells. Other MVBs contain molecules that are retained in the ILVs and are later degraded within the...
Fusion of Secretory Vesicles with the Plasma Membrane01:26

Fusion of Secretory Vesicles with the Plasma Membrane

Proteins and neurotransmitters in secretory vesicles can be released from a cell upon vesicle docking, priming, and fusion with the plasma membrane. Vesicles are docked and primed in preparation for the quick exocytosis of their contents in response to a stimulus. The fusion process is mainly carried out by a SNAP Receptor or SNARE complex, consisting of synaptobrevin, syntaxin-1, and SNAP-25.
In 1993, Jim Rothman proposed that the antiparallel pairing of vesicular and transmembrane SNAREs, or...