Abstract
Cell-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) are newly uncovered messengers for intercellular communication. They are released by almost all cell types in the three kingdoms, Archeabacteria, Bacteria and Eukaryotes. They are known to mediate important biological functions and to be increasingly involved in cell physiology and in many human diseases, especially in oncology. The aim of this review is to recapitulate the current knowledge about EVs and to summarize our pioneering work about Dictyostelium discoideum EVs. However, many challenges remain unsolved in the EV research field, before any EV application for theranostics (diagnosis, prognosis, and therapy) of human cancers, can be efficiently implemented in the clinics. Dictyostelium might be an outstanding eukaryotic cell model for deciphering the utmost challenging problem of EV heterogeneity, and for unraveling the still mostly unknown mechanisms of their specific functions as mediators of intercellular communication.
Highlights
After a brief presentation of the extracellular vesicles (EVs) and of the eukaryotic microorganismDictyostelium, an overview will be given about the properties of EVs and their involvement in human health and disease
Two Canadian teams worked on the maturation of sheep reticulocytes into erythrocytes over a number of years, and showed that the obsolete protein transferrin was transported outside the cells by a means of extracellular vesicles, called “exosomes”
The EV-mediated intercellular communication is a “double-edge sword”, as cells can release prions in association with exosomes [60], and exosomes can mediate the functional delivery of viral miRNA [61], whereas microvesicles too can contribute to viral infection [62]
Summary
After a brief presentation of the extracellular vesicles (EVs) and of the eukaryotic microorganism. Dictyostelium, an overview will be given about the properties of EVs and their involvement in human health and disease. Our pionnering work about Dictyostelium EVs will be presented in addition to the assets of Dictyostelium, as a model for studying the mammalian EVs will be discussed
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