Microvesicle
Type of extracellular vesicle / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Microvesicles (ectosomes, or microparticles) are a type of extracellular vesicle (EV) that are released from the cell membrane.[1] In multicellular organisms, microvesicles and other EVs are found both in tissues (in the interstitial space between cells) and in many types of body fluids.[2] Delimited by a phospholipid bilayer,[3][4] microvesicles can be as small as the smallest EVs (30 nm in diameter) or as large as 1000 nm. They are considered to be larger, on average, than intracellularly-generated EVs known as exosomes. Microvesicles play a role in intercellular communication and can transport molecules such as mRNA, miRNA, and proteins between cells.[5]
Though initially dismissed as cellular debris, microvesicles may reflect the antigenic content of the cell of origin and have a role in cell signaling. Like other EVs, they have been implicated in numerous physiologic processes, including anti-tumor effects, tumor immune suppression, metastasis, tumor-stroma interactions, angiogenesis, and tissue regeneration.[6][7][8][9] Microvesicles may also remove misfolded proteins, cytotoxic agents and metabolic waste from the cell. Changes in microvesicle levels may indicate diseases including cancer.[10][11]