Toward Exosome-Based Therapeutics: Isolation, Heterogeneity, and Fit-for-Purpose Potency.

ABSTRACT: Exosomes are defined as submicron (30-150 nm), lipid bilayer-enclosed extracellular vesicles (EVs), specifically generated by the late endosomal compartment through fusion of multivesicular bodies with the plasma membrane. Produced by almost all cells, exosomes were originally considered to represent just a mechanism for jettisoning unwanted cellular moieties. Although this may be a major function in most cells, evolution has recruited the endosomal membrane-sorting pathway to duties beyond mere garbage disposal, one of the most notable examples being its cooption by retroviruses for the generation of Trojan virions. It is, therefore, tempting to speculate that certain cell types have evolved an exosome subclass active in intracellular communication. We term this EV subclass "signalosomes"

SUBMITTER: Willis GR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5640880 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature