Table 1 Identification of the subtypes of extracellular vesicles
EV subtypes | Exosomes | Microparticles |
|---|---|---|
Alternative | Extracellular vesicles | Ectosomes or Microvesicles or Extracellular vesicles |
Origin | Endosomal membrane | Plasma membrane |
Form | Inward budding | Outward budding |
Medium | Multivesicular endosomes (MVE) | None |
Size | 30–100 nm | 100–1000 nm |
Sedimentation | 100,000×g | 10,000×g |
Detection | Electron microscopy, NTA, TRPS, Bead-based flow cytometry, Fluorescence-triggered flow cytometry | Conventional scatter-triggered flow cytometry |
Mechanisms of the biogenesis | 1. ESCRT dependent mechanism [146, 147] 2. Synthesis of ceramide that induces vesicle curvature and budding [148] 3. Tetraspanin-mediated organization of specific proteins such as the amyloidogenic protein and the premelanosome protein [149, 150] | 1. Characterized by an increase in cytosolic calcium concentration [44] 2. Apoptosis-dependent microparticle formation mechanism [45] |
Annexin V binding capacity | No/Low Annexin V binding capacity | High Annexin V binding capacity |
Release | Constitutive and/or cellular activation | Cellular activation and early apoptosis |