Table 1.

Basic characteristics of extracellular vesicle subtypes

EV type	Exosomes	Microvesicles	Apoptotic bodies
Size range	30–150 nm	0.1–1 μm	1–5 μm
Biogenesis	Of endosomal origin, secreted via fusion of multivesicular bodies with plasma membrane	Generated via outward budding of plasma membrane via actin–myosin contractions	Released from plasma membrane via blebbing and protrusion formation as late stage event in apoptotic cell disassembly
Known functional roles	Cell-to-cell communication	Cell-to-cell communication	Cell-to-cell communication, cell clearance
Known cargo	RNS, DNA, protein, lipids