Figure 1.

Biogenesis and composition of extracellular vesicles. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) include microvesicles, exosomes, and apoptotic bodies. Microvesicles are shed from the plasma membrane through protrusion or budding; exosomes are nanovesicles released from specific endosomal compartments, namely Multivesicular Bodies (MVB), upon their fusion with the plasma membrane; apoptotic bodies are generated by blebbing of the plasma membrane from cells undergoing apoptosis. Exosomes have been studied most widely, and their components, including lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids, are depicted. Most of them are shared with microvesicles. Modified from [42].