Department of Biochemistry and Genetics, La Trobe Institute for Molecular Science, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Division of Immunology and Allergy, Department of Medicine, Karolinska Institute, Solna, Sweden.
Subcell Biochem. 2021;97:89-97. doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-67171-6_5.
Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are described as membranous vesicles that are secreted by various cell types. EVs can be categorised as exosomes, ectosomes, apoptotic bodies, large oncosomes and migrasomes. EVs are heterogeneous in nature according to their origin, mode of release, size, and biochemical contents. Herein, we discuss a recently discovered subpopulation of EVs called 'exomeres'. Unlike the other subtypes of EVs, exomeres are defined as non-membranous nanovesicles with a size ≤50 nm. They can be isolated using asymmetric-flow field-flow fractionation as well as ultracentrifugation. The cargo of exomeres are beginning to be unravelled and are highlighted to be enriched with proteins implicated in regulating metabolic pathways. Consistent with other types of EVs, exomeres also contain nucleic acids and lipids which can be delivered to recipient cells. These discoveries highlight the complex heterogeneity of EVs and thereby necessitates further attention to understand the nature of each subpopulation more exclusively. Overall, this chapter describes the current knowledge on exomeres.
细胞外囊泡（EVs）被描述为各种细胞类型分泌的膜性囊泡。EVs 可以分为外泌体、ectosomes、凋亡小体、大 oncosomes 和 migrasomes。根据其来源、释放方式、大小和生化成分的不同，EVs 在性质上具有异质性。本文讨论了一种最近发现的 EV 亚群，称为“exomeres”。与其他类型的 EV 不同，exomeres 的定义是尺寸≤50nm 的非膜性纳米囊泡。它们可以使用不对称流场流分离和超速离心来分离。exomeres 的货物开始被揭示，并被突出显示为富含参与调节代谢途径的蛋白质。与其他类型的 EV 一样，exomeres 还含有可以递送到受体细胞的核酸和脂质。这些发现突出了 EV 的复杂异质性，因此需要进一步关注，以更专门地了解每个亚群的性质。总的来说，本章描述了 exomeres 的现有知识。
