Extracellular vesicles as mediators of vascular inflammation in kidney disease

Figure 1 Classification of extracellular vesicles. Types of extracellular vesicles are distinguished by their mode of generation. Microparticles directly bud off the plasma membrane and measure approximately 100-1000 nm. Exosomes are released by fusion of multivesicular bodies with the plasma membrane and their sizes range between 40-100 nm. Both types of extracellular vesicles can contain RNA, microRNA, proteins, lipids and metabolites. MVBs: Multivesicular bodies.