Fig. 3
From: A review of the regulatory mechanisms of extracellular vesicles-mediated intercellular communication
The biogenesis, travelling, uptake and degradation of EVs. EVs biogenesis occurs in progenitor cells. Then various EVs are secreted by progenitor cells, such as exosomes, microvesicles and apoptotic bodies. Exosomes are secreted within the MVEs. Microvesicles are secreted by directly budding through the plasma membrane and apoptotic bodies are released via membrane blebbing. After traveling through the ECM, EVs may influence the cell phenotype by endocytosis, fusion, and signaling. Subsequently, EVs would go through their metabolism in the recipient cell via three possible pathways including degradation by the lysosome, being released outside of the recipient cell directly, and contents release into the cytoplasm of the recipient cell. (Abbreviation: ECM, extracellular matrix; MVE, multivesicular vesicle; ILVs, intraluminal vesicles)