Extracellular vesicles: lipids as key components of their biogenesis and functions

Abstract

Intercellular communication has been known for decades to involve either direct contact between cells or to operate via circulating molecules, such as cytokines, growth factors, or lipid mediators. During the last decade, we have begun to appreciate the increasing importance of intercellular communication mediated by extracellular vesicles released by viable cells either from plasma membrane shedding (microvesicles, also named microparticles) or from an intracellular compartment (exosomes). Exosomes and microvesicles circulate in all biological fluids and can trigger biological responses at a distance. Their effects include a large variety of biological processes, such as immune surveillance, modification of tumor microenvironment, or regulation of inflammation. Extracellular vesicles can carry a large array of active molecules, including lipid mediators, such as eicosanoids, proteins, and nucleic acids, able to modify the phenotype of receiving cells. This review will highlight the role of the various lipidic pathways involved in the biogenesis and functions of microvesicles and exosomes.

Exosomes: Revisiting their role as “garbage bags”

“…This is why the use of exosomes as biomarkers has been largely investigated from various body fluids in recent years . Moreover, other exosome‐borne molecules such as lipids and miRNAs could also support this quest.…”

“…Multiple functional roles of these vesicles have been described in various research fields focused on the immune response, cancer, development and neurodegenerative disorders because of their capacity to transfer biological components (eg, proteins, lipids, RNA) from producing to recipient cells. Readers may refer to recent reviews on this topic …”

“…Readers may refer to recent reviews on this topic. [1][2][3][4][5] Fifteen years ago, we proposed that one physiological function of exosomes could be a clearance process, whereby exosomes would serve as a quality control system to verify the "recyclability" of membrane molecules. 6 Many studies have been published since then on the consequences of vesicle release for the secreting and recipient cells, but also in terms of biogenesis and secretion mechanisms, as well as the characteristics differentiating them from other kinds of vesicles or distinct co-secreted non-vesicular material.…”

Histamine releasing factor and elongation factor 1 alpha secreted via malaria parasites extracellular vesicles promote immune evasion by inhibiting specific T cell responses

“…In contrast, microvesicles are formed by budding and shedding from the plasma membrane and are larger with greater size heterogeneity. EVs carry diverse content such as RNA (Baglio et al, ; Ridder et al, ), DNA (Sansone et al, ; Sisquella et al, ; Thakur et al, ), proteins (Simpson, Lim, Moritz, & Mathivanan, ; Torrecilhas, Schumacher, Alves, & Colli, ), and lipids (Record, Silvente‐Poirot, Poirot, & Wakelam, ; Verderio, Gabrielli, & Giussani, ), which can be delivered to target cells.…”

“…EVs carry diverse content such as RNA (Baglio et al, 2016;Ridder et al, 2015), DNA (Sansone et al, 2017;Sisquella et al, 2017;Thakur et al, 2014), proteins (Simpson, Lim, Moritz, & Mathivanan, 2009;Torrecilhas, Schumacher, Alves, & Colli, 2012), and lipids (Record, Silvente-Poirot, Poirot, & Wakelam, 2018;Verderio, Gabrielli, & Giussani, 2018), which can be delivered to target cells.…”