Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 27, 2025

Extraction of Extracellular Vesicles from Whole Tissue
Published on: February 7, 2019
On the road: extracellular vesicles in intercellular communication.
Silja Wessler1, Nicole Meisner-Kober2
1Department of Biosciences and Medical Biology, Center for Tumor Biology and Immunology (CTBI), Paris-Lodron University Salzburg, University of Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria. silja.wessler@plus.ac.at.
Cells release extracellular vesicles (EVs) for homeostasis and communication. These nanovesicles are key to intercellular signaling in health and disease, with growing biomedical applications.
Area of Science:
- Cell Biology
- Biochemistry
- Physiology
Background:
- Cells release diverse extracellular vesicles (EVs) for homeostasis and intercellular communication.
- EVs are nanosized vesicles generated from endomembranes or plasma membrane.
- Macromolecular cargo is loaded into EVs via controlled molecular sorting.
Discussion:
- EVs mediate intercellular communication within tissues, between organs, and across organisms.
- Research on fundamental EV biology and biomedical applications has intensified over the last 15 years.
- EVs are increasingly recognized as essential mediators in health and disease.
Key Insights:
- EVs play crucial roles in orchestrating intercellular communication.
- Controlled molecular sorting ensures specific cargo loading into EVs.
- EVs impact recipient cells locally and systemically.
Outlook:
- Advances in EV biogenesis, intercellular communication, and technical applications are highlighted.
- The potential for biomedical applications of EVs is a significant area of ongoing research.
- This thematic series presents new findings on EVs for Cell Communication and Signaling.
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