Endothelial cells release hybrid extracellular vesicles: microvesicles that secrete exosomes

Cells release membrane-bound vesicles called extracellular vesicles (EVs). EVs bud from the plasma membrane as microvesicles (MVs) or arise from the exocytosis of intraluminal vesicles (ILVs) from multivesicular bodies (MVBs) as exosomes. Bioactive molecules carried by EVs impart diverse functionality to EVs in intercellular signaling. Much remains to be discovered about the biogenesis of EVs in different cell types. We studied EV release from endothelial cells, which form the endothelium and release EVs that support vascular homeostasis.