Immune cell-derived vesicles: modulators and mediators of inflammation.

Esther N M Nolte-'t Hoen, Marca H M Wauben

Dept. of Biochemistry & Cell Biology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.

Current pharmaceutical design 2012

filter terms:

Most cell types can release vesicles. Cell-derived vesicles are increasingly recognized as an evolutionary wide-spread mechanism of intercellular communication. The paracrine and long range activity of vesicles and their regulated cargo-composition endows these vesicles with regulatory properties beyond that of the parental cell. The release and biogenesis of cell-derived vesicles is a dynamic and tightly controlled process. In the past years it has become clear that these vesicles exert a plethora of biological effects. This has sparked the intense interest in these vesicles in relation to (patho)physiological processes. This review focuses on the role of cell-derived vesicles in inflammation, with emphasis on the immune modulating capacity of immune cell-derived vesicles. The biological activity of different leukocyte-derived vesicles is compared, and potential explanations for the strong biological effects exhibited by vesicles are provided. The role of cell-derived vesicles in inflammatory processes is discussed by speculating how these vesicles can contribute to allergic inflammation.

Citation

Esther N M Nolte-'t Hoen, Marca H M Wauben. Immune cell-derived vesicles: modulators and mediators of inflammation. Current pharmaceutical design. 2012;18(16):2357-68