Table 1.

Characterization of EV populations according to diameter, biogenesis, physiological role, cargo and typical markers.

	Exosomes	Ectosomes	Apoptotic Bodies
Diameter	30–100 (nm)	100–1000 (nm)	1000–5000 (nm)
Release mechanism	Inside the cell in multivesicular bodies	On the cell surface, via blebbing of the cell membrane	Cell fragments generated during cell apoptosis
Role	Cell-to-cell communication	Cell-to-cell communication	Phagocytosis facilitation
Cargo	DNA, RNA, proteins [9,10]	DNA, RNA, proteins [9,10]	Cell organelles, nuclear fraction [9]
Markers	Tetraspanins: CD9, CD63, CD81, Hsp70, Hsp90, Alix, Tsg 101, flotilin [11]	Integrins, selectins, Arf-6	Thrombospondin and C3b