Extracellular Vesicles and Their Emerging Roles as Cellular Messengers in Endocrinology: An Endocrine Society Scientific Statement

During the last decade, there has been great interest in elucidating the biological role of extracellular vesicles (EVs), particularly, their hormone-like role in cell-to-cell communication. The field of endocrinology is uniquely placed to provide insight into the functions of EVs, which are secrete...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inEndocrine reviews Vol. 43; no. 3; pp. 441 - 468
Main Authors Salomon, Carlos, Das, Saumya, Erdbrügger, Uta, Kalluri, Raghu, Kiang Lim, Sai, Olefsky, Jerrold M, Rice, Gregory E, Sahoo, Susmita, Andy Tao, W, Vader, Pieter, Wang, Qun, Weaver, Alissa M
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States Oxford University Press 21.04.2022
Subjects
Biological Transport
Cell Communication - physiology
Endocrinology
Extracellular Vesicles - physiology
Humans
Scientific Statement
Signal Transduction
microvesicle
apoptotic body
signaling
cellular messenger
biogenesis
migrasome
exosome
extracellular vesicle
ectosome
oncosome
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Summary:During the last decade, there has been great interest in elucidating the biological role of extracellular vesicles (EVs), particularly, their hormone-like role in cell-to-cell communication. The field of endocrinology is uniquely placed to provide insight into the functions of EVs, which are secreted from all cells into biological fluids and carry endocrine signals to engage in paracellular and distal interactions. EVs are a heterogeneous population of membrane-bound vesicles of varying size, content, and bioactivity. EVs are specifically packaged with signaling molecules, including lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids, and are released via exocytosis into biofluid compartments. EVs regulate the activity of both proximal and distal target cells, including translational activity, metabolism, growth, and development. As such, EVs signaling represents an integral pathway mediating intercellular communication. Moreover, as the content of EVs is cell-type specific, it is a "fingerprint" of the releasing cell and its metabolic status. Recently, changes in the profile of EV and bioactivity have been described in several endocrine-related conditions including diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer. The goal of this statement is to highlight relevant aspects of EV research and their potential role in the field of endocrinology.
ISSN:0163-769X
1945-7189
DOI:10.1210/endrev/bnac009