Thematic Issue: Extracellular Vesicles

Bacterial membrane vesicles (MVs) are abundant in the oceans, but their potential functional roles remain unclear. In this study we characterized MV production and protein content of six strains of Alteromonas macleodii, a cosmopolitan marine bacterium.

Cryptococcus neoformans is a facultative intracellular pathogen that can replicate and disseminate in mammalian macrophages. In this study, we analyzed fungal proteins identified in murine macrophage-like cells after infection with C. neoformans.

Bacterial membrane vesicles (MVs) have been reported to kill other bacteria. In the case of Pseudomonas aeruginosa the bactericidal activity has been attributed to an unidentified 26 kDa peptidoglycan (PG) hydrolase that is associated with MVs and gives rise to a lytic band on zymograms using murein sacculi as substrate.

Neisseria gonorrhoeae causes the sexually transmitted disease gonorrhoea. The treatment of gonorrhoea is becoming increasingly challenging, as N. gonorrhoeae has developed resistance to antimicrobial agents routinely used in the clinic.

Membrane vesicles (MVs) contribute to various biological processes in bacteria, including virulence factor delivery, antimicrobial resistance, host immune evasion and cross-species communication. MVs are frequently released from the surface of both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria during growth.

The gut microbiota plays an integral role in human health and its dysbiosis is associated with many chronic diseases. There are still large gaps in understanding the host and environmental factors that directly regulate the gut microbiota, and few effective strategies exist to modulate the microbiota in therapeutic applications.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are lipidic nanosized particles that deliver a highly complex molecular cargo between cells and organisms and may serve numerous functions in intercellular communication, thereby influencing the evolution of microbial communities. Their roles in infectious diseases have been studied for a long time, comprising viral, bacterial, parasitic and to a less extent...

Budding of the bacterial surface results in the formation and secretion of outer membrane vesicles, which is a conserved phenomenon observed in Gram-negative bacteria. Recent studies highlight that these sphere-shaped facsimiles of the donor bacterium's surface with enclosed periplasmic content may serve multiple purposes for their host bacterium.

Membrane-bound extracellular vesicles (EVs) are secreted by cells from all three domains of life and their implication in various biological processes is increasingly recognized. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge on archaeal EVs and nanotubes, and emphasize their biological significance.

Extracellular vesicles are of increasing importance in the clinic, as diagnostics for complex diseases and as potential delivery systems for therapeutics. Over the past several decades, extracellular vesicles have emerged as a widespread, conserved mechanism of intercellular and interkingdom communication.