microvesicle
Sign in to saveAlso known as ectosome, GO:1990742, extracellular microvesicle
thumb|Transmission electron micrograph of lead citrate stained microvesicles. Black bar is 100 nanometers
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Article
32 sectionsContents
- Formation and contents
- Endothelial microparticles
- Process of formation
- Mechanism of shedding
- Molecular contents
- Role on target cells
- Mechanisms of signaling
- Degradation
- Fusion
- Internalization
- Transcytosis
- Contact dependent signaling
- Relevance in disease
- Cancer
- Promoting aggressive tumor phenotypes
- Promoting angiogenesis
- Involvement in multidrug resistance
- Interference with antitumor immunity
- Impact on tumor metastasis
- Cellular Origin of Microvesicles
- Cardiovascular disease
- Inflammation
- Neurological disorders
- Clinical applications
- Detection of cancer
- Microvesicles and Rheumatoid arthritis
- Biological markers for disease
- Mechanism for drug delivery
- See also
- References
- Further reading
- External links
thumb|Transmission electron micrograph of lead citrate stained microvesicles. Black bar is 100 nanometers
Microvesicles (ectosomes, or microparticles) are a type of extracellular vesicle (EV) that are released from the cell membrane. 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. Delimited by a phospholipid bilayer, 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.