Table 1 Brief classification of extracellular vesicles

Exosomes

30–200 nm

Released from multivesicular bodies within the endosomal network

Membrane transport and fusion proteins (annexins, GTPases, and flotillin), tetraspanins (CD9, CD63, CD81, and CD82), heat-shock proteins (Hsc70 and Hsp90), proteins involved in MVB biogenesis (Alix and Tsg101), lipid-related proteins and phospholipases, ESCRT, and MHC

^4,5,13,14,15

Microvesicles

100–1000 nm

Produced by direct budding from the cell membrane

Selectins, integrins (B1), metalloprotease surface phosphatidylserine, vesicle-associated membrane protein 3, CD34, CD40, CD45, glycophorin, or blood group antigens

^{16,17,18,19,20,21,22,25,58}

Apoptotic bodies

>1 µm

Released only by cells undergoing apoptosis or programmed cell death (apoptosis fragments)

Surface phosphatidylserinehistones, calnexin, cytochrome C, annexin V, C3b, and TSP

^{4,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22}

Oncosomes

1–10 µm

Non-apoptotic plasma membrane blebs shed by “ameboid” migrating tumor cells or from tumors

Cav-1, ARF6, Myr, Akt1, and HB‑EGF

²³