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Updated: Jun 7, 2026

Development of an Antigen-driven Colitis Model to Study Presentation of Antigens by Antigen Presenting Cells to T Cells
Published on: September 18, 2016
Ectosomes as modulators of inflammation and immunity
S Sadallah1, C Eken, J A Schifferli
1Department of Biomedicine, University Hospital Basel, Hebelstrasse 20, Basel, Switzerland.
Abstract:
Vesicles released by cells have been described using various names, including exosomes, microparticles, microvesicles and ectosomes. Here we propose to differentiate clearly between ectosomes and exosomes according to their formation and release. Whereas exosomes are formed in multi-vesicular bodies, ectosomes are vesicles budding directly from the cell surface. Depending upon the proteins expressed, exosomes activate or inhibit the immune system. One of the major properties of exosomes released by antigen-presenting cells is to induce antigen-specific T cell activation. Thus, they have been used for tumour immunotherapy. By contrast, the major characteristics of ectosomes released by various cells, including tumour cells, polymorphonuclear leucocytes and erythrocytes, are the expression of phosphatidylserine and to have anti-inflammatory/immunosuppressive activities similarly to apoptotic cells.
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