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Review ArticleReview Article

Classification, Functions, and Clinical Relevance of Extracellular Vesicles

Edwin van der Pol, Anita N. Böing, Paul Harrison, Augueste Sturk and Rienk Nieuwland
Mark P. Mattson, ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Pharmacological Reviews July 2012, 64 (3) 676-705; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1124/pr.112.005983
Edwin van der Pol
Departments of Clinical Chemistry (E.v.d.P., A.B., A.S., R.N.) and Biomedical Engineering and Physics (E.v.d.P.), Academic Medical Centre of the University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; and Oxford Haemophilia & Thrombosis Centre, Churchill Hospital, Oxford, United Kingdom (P.H.)
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Anita N. Böing
Departments of Clinical Chemistry (E.v.d.P., A.B., A.S., R.N.) and Biomedical Engineering and Physics (E.v.d.P.), Academic Medical Centre of the University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; and Oxford Haemophilia & Thrombosis Centre, Churchill Hospital, Oxford, United Kingdom (P.H.)
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Paul Harrison
Departments of Clinical Chemistry (E.v.d.P., A.B., A.S., R.N.) and Biomedical Engineering and Physics (E.v.d.P.), Academic Medical Centre of the University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; and Oxford Haemophilia & Thrombosis Centre, Churchill Hospital, Oxford, United Kingdom (P.H.)
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Augueste Sturk
Departments of Clinical Chemistry (E.v.d.P., A.B., A.S., R.N.) and Biomedical Engineering and Physics (E.v.d.P.), Academic Medical Centre of the University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; and Oxford Haemophilia & Thrombosis Centre, Churchill Hospital, Oxford, United Kingdom (P.H.)
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Rienk Nieuwland
Departments of Clinical Chemistry (E.v.d.P., A.B., A.S., R.N.) and Biomedical Engineering and Physics (E.v.d.P.), Academic Medical Centre of the University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; and Oxford Haemophilia & Thrombosis Centre, Churchill Hospital, Oxford, United Kingdom (P.H.)
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Mark P. Mattson
Departments of Clinical Chemistry (E.v.d.P., A.B., A.S., R.N.) and Biomedical Engineering and Physics (E.v.d.P.), Academic Medical Centre of the University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; and Oxford Haemophilia & Thrombosis Centre, Churchill Hospital, Oxford, United Kingdom (P.H.)
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Abstract

Both eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells release small, phospholipid-enclosed vesicles into their environment. Why do cells release vesicles? Initial studies showed that eukaryotic vesicles are used to remove obsolete cellular molecules. Although this release of vesicles is beneficial to the cell, the vesicles can also be a danger to their environment, for instance in blood, where vesicles can provide a surface supporting coagulation. Evidence is accumulating that vesicles are cargo containers used by eukaryotic cells to exchange biomolecules as transmembrane receptors and genetic information. Because also bacteria communicate to each other via extracellular vesicles, the intercellular communication via extracellular cargo carriers seems to be conserved throughout evolution, and therefore vesicles are likely to be a highly efficient, robust, and economic manner of exchanging information between cells. Furthermore, vesicles protect cells from accumulation of waste or drugs, they contribute to physiology and pathology, and they have a myriad of potential clinical applications, ranging from biomarkers to anticancer therapy. Because vesicles may pass the blood-brain barrier, they can perhaps even be considered naturally occurring liposomes. Unfortunately, pathways of vesicle release and vesicles themselves are also being used by tumors and infectious diseases to facilitate spreading, and to escape from immune surveillance. In this review, the different types, nomenclature, functions, and clinical relevance of vesicles will be discussed.

Footnotes

  • This article is available online at http://pharmrev.aspetjournals.org.

    http://dx.doi.org/10.1124/pr.112.005983.

  • © 2012 by The American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics
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Pharmacological Reviews: 64 (3)
Pharmacological Reviews
Vol. 64, Issue 3
1 Jul 2012
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Review ArticleReview Article

VESICLES IN HEALTH AND DISEASE

Edwin van der Pol, Anita N. Böing, Paul Harrison, Augueste Sturk and Rienk Nieuwland
Pharmacological Reviews July 1, 2012, 64 (3) 676-705; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1124/pr.112.005983

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Review ArticleReview Article

VESICLES IN HEALTH AND DISEASE

Edwin van der Pol, Anita N. Böing, Paul Harrison, Augueste Sturk and Rienk Nieuwland
Pharmacological Reviews July 1, 2012, 64 (3) 676-705; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1124/pr.112.005983
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  • Article
    • Abstract
    • I. Introduction
    • II. Properties of Cell-Derived Vesicles
    • III. Functions of Cell-Derived Vesicles
    • IV. Clinical Applications
    • V. Relevance of Cell-Derived Vesicles In Vivo
    • VI. Conclusions and Future Directions
    • Authorship Contributions
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