Biogenesis and Identification of Extracellular Vesicles

Several pathways exist for the production of extracellular vesicles (EVs), although explicit biogenesis mechanisms are still unknown. On the basis of their biogenesis, cargo, and size, EVs are generally divided into four broad categories: exosomes, microvesicles (MVs), apoptotic bodies (ApoBDs), and large oncosomes (LOs). Since the existing isolation techniques are based on the size and structure of EVs, and the capture of some membrane proteins, it is difficult to completely distinguish them from other vesicles and macromolecular protein complexes, which requires their identification. Therefore, in this chapter, we focus on the biogenesis mechanism and identification of EVs.