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Related Concept Videos

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...
Clathrin Coated Vesicles01:12

Clathrin Coated Vesicles

Clathrin-coated vesicles use endocytosis to transport receptors and lysosomal hydrolases from the Golgi to the lysosome in the late secretory pathway. Clathrin-mediated endocytosis was the first described endocytic process, and Clathrin-coated vesicles remain one of the most well-studied transport vesicles. The molecular machinery that generates clathrin-coated vesicles comprises over 50 proteins that precisely coordinate vesicle formation. Cell surface receptors concentrated in indented sites...
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...
Export of Misfolded Proteins out of the ER01:32

Export of Misfolded Proteins out of the ER

After folding, the ER assesses the quality of secretory and membrane proteins. The correctly folded proteins are cleared by the calnexin cycle for transport to their final destination, while misfolded proteins are held back in the ER lumen. The ER chaperones attempt to unfold and refold the misfolded proteins but sometimes fail to achieve the correct native conformation. Such terminally misfolded proteins are then exported to the cytosol by ER-associated degradation or ERAD pathway for...
Receptor Downregulation in MVBs01:15

Receptor Downregulation in MVBs

Multivesicular bodies (MVBs) are mature endosomes that sort ubiquitinated proteins and then fuse with lysosomes to degrade the sorted proteins. Epidermal growth factor (EGF) and its receptor (EGFR) form a complex that can be internalized through endocytosis, sorted into an MVB, and later degraded.
The EGFR can initiate signaling pathways that  lead to cell proliferation, migration, and differentiation. Overexpression of EGFR  stimulates cells to proliferate. Excessive  EGFR activation may...
Rab Cascades01:25

Rab Cascades

Rab GTPases act in a regulated cascade during membrane fusion, helping the lipid bilayers mix. The Rab family of proteins are active when bound to GTP, and inactive when bound to GDP. Hence, they act as guanine nucleotide-dependent molecular switches. Rab-GTP recognizes and binds to long or short-range tethering proteins to capture the target vesicle. These tethers coordinate with SNAREs on the vesicle and the target membrane to assemble the trans SNARE complex that locks the mixing bilayers.

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 19, 2026

Tracking miRNA Release into Extracellular Vesicles using Flow Cytometry
07:29

Tracking miRNA Release into Extracellular Vesicles using Flow Cytometry

Published on: October 6, 2023

R(h)oads to microvesicles.

Marc A Antonyak1, Kristin F Wilson, Richard A Cerione

  • 1Department of Molecular Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.

Small Gtpases
|August 22, 2012
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Cancer cells release microvesicles (MVs) that promote tumor growth and metastasis. Rho family GTPases, including RhoA, Rac, and Cdc42, are crucial for MV formation and cargo loading in aggressive human cancers.

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Direct Stochastic Optical Reconstruction Microscopy of Extracellular Vesicles in Three Dimensions
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Direct Stochastic Optical Reconstruction Microscopy of Extracellular Vesicles in Three Dimensions

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Last Updated: May 19, 2026

Tracking miRNA Release into Extracellular Vesicles using Flow Cytometry
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Published on: October 6, 2023

Rapid Fluorescence-based Characterization of Single Extracellular Vesicles in Human Blood with Nanoparticle-tracking Analysis
09:16

Rapid Fluorescence-based Characterization of Single Extracellular Vesicles in Human Blood with Nanoparticle-tracking Analysis

Published on: January 7, 2019

Direct Stochastic Optical Reconstruction Microscopy of Extracellular Vesicles in Three Dimensions
09:36

Direct Stochastic Optical Reconstruction Microscopy of Extracellular Vesicles in Three Dimensions

Published on: August 26, 2021

Area of Science:

  • Oncology
  • Cell Biology
  • Molecular Signaling

Background:

  • Microvesicles (MVs) are shed by aggressive human cancer cells, containing signaling proteins and RNA.
  • MVs contribute to tumor growth and the pre-metastatic niche formation.
  • The role of Rho family GTPases in MV biogenesis and cargo loading is under investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the role of Rho family small GTPases in microvesicle biogenesis and cargo selection in human cancer cells.
  • To elucidate the specific contributions of RhoA, Rac, and Cdc42 to microvesicle shedding and content regulation.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized human cancer cell lines to study microvesicle formation.
  • Investigated the function of RhoA, Rac, and Cdc42 in microvesicle biogenesis.
  • Analyzed the cargo content of microvesicles, including proteins and RNA transcripts.

Main Results:

  • RhoA was identified as critical for microvesicle biogenesis in human cancer cells.
  • Rac and Cdc42 were implicated in regulating specific cargo loading into microvesicles.
  • These Rho family GTPases also play a role in the shedding of microvesicles from cancer cells.

Conclusions:

  • Rho family small GTPases are key regulators of microvesicle biogenesis and function in cancer.
  • This research reveals a novel mechanism by which signaling proteins contribute to cancer progression via microvesicles.