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Overview of Secretory Vesicles

Overview of Secretory Vesicles

Secretory vesicles, also known as dense core vesicles (DCVs), are membrane-bound vesicles that transport secretory proteins, such as hormones or neurotransmitters. Regulated secretory vesicles transport proteins from the trans-Golgi network to the exterior of the cell. Proteins present in regulated secretory vesicles are required to be rapidly exocytosed in large amounts upon a specific stimulus.
Various proteins regulate the aggregation of molecules inside the secretory vesicles. Chromogranins...

Exocytosis

Exocytosis

Exocytosis is a process that releases molecules outside the cell. Like other bulk transport mechanisms, exocytosis requires energy.
Exocytosis is the opposite of endocytosis, which brings molecules inside the cell. Sometimes, the released materials are signaling molecules. For example, neurons typically use exocytosis to release neurotransmitters. Cells also use exocytosis to insert proteins such as ion channels into their cell membranes, secrete proteins for use in the extracellular matrix, or...

Exocytosis

Exocytosis

Exocytosis is used to release material from cells. Like other bulk transport mechanisms, exocytosis requires energy.

Overview of Exosomes

Overview of Exosomes

Exosomes are stable, lipid bilayer-enclosed vesicles capable of crossing biological barriers. They can carry a wide range of molecules required for intercellular communication. Once exosomes are released from the cell where they originated, they enter a recipient cell through various pathways such as fusion, receptor-mediated endocytosis, macropinocytosis, and phagocytosis.
Stahl et al. discovered exosomes in 1983, but the exosomes were initially considered waste products released from the...

Fusion of Secretory Vesicles with the Plasma Membrane

Fusion of Secretory Vesicles with the Plasma Membrane

Proteins and neurotransmitters in secretory vesicles can be released from a cell upon vesicle docking, priming, and fusion with the plasma membrane. Vesicles are docked and primed in preparation for the quick exocytosis of their contents in response to a stimulus. The fusion process is mainly carried out by a SNAP Receptor or SNARE complex, consisting of synaptobrevin, syntaxin-1, and SNAP-25.
In 1993, Jim Rothman proposed that the antiparallel pairing of vesicular and transmembrane SNAREs, or...

Vesicular Tubular Clusters

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...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 15, 2026

Nanoparticle Tracking Analysis for the Quantification and Size Determination of Extracellular Vesicles

Nanoparticle Tracking Analysis for the Quantification and Size Determination of Extracellular Vesicles

Published on: March 28, 2021

Extracellular Vesicle Release Within Energetic and Quantitative Constraints: Implications for Function.

Christian Preußer^1,2, Elke Pogge von Strandmann^1,2

¹Marburg University, EV-iTEC Core Facility, Marburg, Germany.

Journal of Extracellular Vesicles

|July 13, 2026

Summary

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are released due to cellular membrane turnover, not solely for intercellular communication. Their functional impact requires meeting strict quantitative and energetic thresholds for reliable effects.

Keywords:

cargo loading extracellular vesicles proteostasis thermodynamics

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Last Updated: Jul 15, 2026

Nanoparticle Tracking Analysis for the Quantification and Size Determination of Extracellular Vesicles

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Published on: March 28, 2021

Tracking miRNA Release into Extracellular Vesicles using Flow Cytometry

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Characterization of Immune Cell-derived Extracellular Vesicles and Studying Functional Impact on Cell Environment

Characterization of Immune Cell-derived Extracellular Vesicles and Studying Functional Impact on Cell Environment

Published on: June 2, 2020

Area of Science:

Cell Biology
Biophysics
Systems Biology

Background:

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are recognized for intercellular communication via cargo.
Current functional interpretations often rely on correlative evidence.
Quantitative and energetic aspects of EV release and function are underexplored.

Purpose of the Study:

Propose an alternative perspective on EV release.
Integrate EV release into cellular homeostasis and thermodynamics.
Establish quantitative and energetic criteria for validating EV function.

Main Methods:

Thermodynamic modeling of membrane dynamics.
Analysis of cellular proteostasis and membrane turnover.
Statistical evaluation of cargo transfer and functional thresholds.

Main Results:

EV release can be viewed as a consequence of cellular membrane turnover and proteostatic balance.
Vesicle formation is an energetically permissible process within constrained membrane systems.
EV communication requires sequential steps (encounter, uptake, access, sufficient cargo), each with limiting thresholds.

Conclusions:

EV function is constrained by quantitative, statistical, and energetic boundary conditions.
Cargo enrichment alone does not guarantee functional sufficiency.
Experimental validation of EV function must consider these explicit criteria.