Table 1 Extravesicles subtype characteristics

Origin

Endocytic origin

Plasma membrane budding

Blebbing

Size

30–200 nm

100–1000 nm

 > 1000 nm

Density

1.13–1.19 g/ml

1.04–1.07 g/ml

1.16–1.28 g/ml

Shape

Spheroid

Irregular

Variable

Composition

Proteins, nucleic acids, lipids and metabolites

Proteins, nucleic acids, lipids and metabolites

DNA fragments and histone, chromatin remnants, cytosol portions, degraded proteins

Typical constituent proteins

Tetraspanins, ESCRT proteins (Alix, TSG101), integrins, heat shock proteins

Integrins, selectins, CD40 ligand, flotillin-2, adenosine diphosphate ribosylation factor 6, phosphatidylserine

Annexin V, phosphatidylserine

Function

Cell–cell communication

Cell–cell communication

Product of programmed cell death. Facilitate clearance of apoptotic cells

References

[21, 25, 28, 185, 186]

[5, 21, 22, 25, 185, 186]

[21, 23,24,25,26]