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Updated: May 14, 2026

Characterization of Immune Cell-derived Extracellular Vesicles and Studying Functional Impact on Cell Environment
Published on: June 2, 2020
Role of extracellular membrane vesicles in intercellular communication of the tumour microenvironment
Katrin J Svensson1, Mattias Belting
1Department of Clinical Sciences, Section of Oncology, Lund University, SE-221 85 Lund, Sweden.
Abstract:
Over the last few decades, extensive studies by several groups have introduced the concept of cell-derived secreted extracellular membrane vesicles as carriers of complex molecular information. Owing to their pleiotropic biological effects and involvement in a wide variety of biological processes, extracellular membrane vesicles have been implicated in physiological as well as pathological events, including tumour development and metastasis. In the present review, we discuss the role of secreted membrane vesicles in intercellular communication with a focus on tumour biology. Of particular interest is the potential role of extracellular vesicles as orchestrators of common features of the malignant tumour microenvironment, e.g. coagulation activation and angiogenesis.
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