Intercellular communication mediated by extracellular vesicles is crucial for preserving vascular integrity and in the development of cardiovascular disease. Extracellular vesicles consist of apoptotic bodies, microvesicles, and exosomes that can be found in almost every fluid compartment of the body like blood, saliva, and urine. In the recent years, a lot of reports came up suggesting that ma...

Cell derived extracellular vesicles are submicron structures surrounded by phospholipid bilayer and released by both prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. The sizes of these vesicles roughly fall into the size ranges of microbes, and they represent efficient delivery platforms targeting complex molecular information to professional antigen presenting cells. Critical roles of these naturally formula...

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are small bilayer lipid membrane vesicles that can be released by most cell types and detected in most body fluids. EVs exert key functions for intercellular communication via transferring their bioactive cargos to recipient cells or activating signaling pathways in target cells. Increasing evidence has shown the important regulatory effects of EVs in cardiovascular...

We have previously demonstrated that tumor cells release membranous structures into their extracellular environment, which are termed exosomes, microvesicles or extracellular vesicles depending on specific characteristics, including size, composition and biogenesis pathway. These cell-derived vesicles can exhibit an array of proteins, lipids and nucleic acids derived from the originating tumor....

Self-renewal and differentiation are defining characteristics of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells, and their balanced regulation is central to lifelong function of both blood and immune systems. In addition to cell-intrinsic programs, hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell fate decisions are subject to extrinsic cues from within the bone marrow microenvironment and systemically. Yet, man...

Breast cancer is a leading cause of cancer-associated death worldwide. One of the most important prognostic factors for survival is the early detection of the disease. Recent studies indicate that extracellular vesicles may provide diagnostic information for cancer management. We demonstrate the secretion of extracellular vesicles by primary breast epithelial cells enriched for stem/progenitor ...

The role of extracellular vesicles as an important mediator of cell-to-cell communication has been well established by many studies that have shown their capability for exchanging proteins, bioactive lipids and nucleic acids. Extracellular vesicles have been implicated in several physiological and pathological processes according to the cell of origin. Identification of the innate properties of...