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Taylor and Francis Group, Journal of Extracellular Vesicles, 1(4), p. 27066, 2015

DOI: 10.3402/jev.v4.27066

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Biological properties of extracellular vesicles and their physiological functions

Journal article published in 2015 by Apolonija Bedina Zavec, Anabela Cordeiro da Silva, María Yáñez-Mó, Pia R.‐M-M. Siljander, Zoraida Andreu, Apolonija Bedina Zavec, Francesc E. Borràs, Edit I. Buzas, Siljander Pr, Krisztina Buzas ORCID, Anabela Cordeiro-Da Silva, Enriqueta Casal, Francesco Cappello, Zavec Ab, Joana Carvalho and other authors.
This paper is made freely available by the publisher.
This paper is made freely available by the publisher.

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Abstract

In the past decade, extracellular vesicles (EVs) have been recognized as potent vehicles of intercellular communication, both in prokaryotes and eukaryotes. This is due to their capacity to transfer proteins, lipids and nucleic acids, thereby influencing various physiological and pathological functions of both recipient and parent cells. While intensive investigation has targeted the role of EVs in different pathological processes, for example, in cancer and autoimmune diseases, the EV-mediated maintenance of homeostasis and the regulation of physiological functions have remained less explored. Here, we provide a comprehensive overview of the current understanding of the physiological roles of EVs, which has been written by crowd-sourcing, drawing on the unique EV expertise of academia-based scientists, clinicians and industry based in 27 European countries, the United States and Australia. This review is intended to be of relevance to both researchers already working on EV biology and to newcomers who will encounter this universal cell biological system. Therefore, here we address the molecular contents and functions of EVs in various tissues and body fluids from cell systems to organs. We also review the physiological mechanisms of EVs in bacteria, lower eukaryotes and plants to highlight the functional uniformity of this emerging communication system. Keywords: extracellular vesicle; microvesicle; microparticle; exosome; physiology; prokaryote; eukaryote (Published: 14 May 2015) Citation: Journal of Extracellular Vesicles 2015, 4: 27066 - http://dx.doi.org/10.3402/jev.v4.27066