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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2012 Dec 18.
Published in final edited form as: Annu Rev Microbiol. 2010;64:163–184. doi: 10.1146/annurev.micro.091208.073413

Figure 2.

Figure 2

Comparison of soluble and outer membrane vesicle (OMV)-based secretion and delivery. Soluble secretion pathways (a) result in general diffusion of secreted enzymes. Soluble secretion is most effective over short distances, especially if a threshold concentration is required for activity. Also, if the secreted enzymes are sensitive to proteases and other degradative factors in the environment, fewer enzymes reach target cells. OMV-mediated secretion pathways (b) generate OMVs that contain sufficient concentrations of enzymes to affect the substrate. Further, other molecules on the surface of OMVs can bind to host receptors, thereby allowing the enzyme to be targeted to specific cells or distal sites. OMVs protect the associated enzymes from extracellular degradation, allowing the enzymes to have a greater effective range.