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Published on: April 5, 2017
Glymphatic Transport as a Possible New Mechanism for the Long-Range Signaling of Extracellular Vesicles Through the
Agnė Pociūtė1, Augustas Pivoriūnas1
1Department of Stem Cell Biology, State Research Institute Centre for Innovative Medicine, Vilnius, Lithuania.
Abstract:
Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are secreted by all types of cells in the central nervous system (CNS) and participate in intercellular communication in physiological and pathological settings. However, an emerging view of multidirectional communications is getting incredibly complex, and, in most cases, it is unclear whether EVs secreted by specific cell populations have specific cellular targets. Here we propose to discriminate between short- (adjacent cells) and long- (different brain regions) range signaling of the EVs in the CNS. We also hypothesize that besides its primary function of brain clearance, the glymphatic system can also serve for the long-range transport and signaling of the EVs throughout the CNS. In the first part of the review, we will describe currently available experimental models used for labeling and tracking cell-type specific EVs in the CNS. Then we will briefly overview the glymphatic system and discuss current evidence showing the physiological and pathological significance of long-range EV signaling in the CNS. Finally, we will provide a hypothetical model describing the possible role of the glymphatic system in the transport and long-range signaling of the EVs.
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