[HTML][HTML] As we wait: coping with an imperfect nomenclature for extracellular vesicles

SJ Gould, G Raposo - Journal of extracellular vesicles, 2013 - Taylor & Francis
SJ Gould, G Raposo
Journal of extracellular vesicles, 2013Taylor & Francis
There is increasing evidence that secreted vesicles play important roles in numerous
aspects of biology (eg intercellular vesicle traffic, immunity, development, neurobiology and
microbiology), contribute to many human diseases (eg cancer, neurodegenerative disorders
and HIV/AIDS) and have significant biotechnological potential. This expanding interest in
extracellular vesicles has also highlighted some vexing problems related to their
nomenclature. At the first meeting of the International Society for Extracellular Vesicles …
There is increasing evidence that secreted vesicles play important roles in numerous aspects of biology (eg intercellular vesicle traffic, immunity, development, neurobiology and microbiology), contribute to many human diseases (eg cancer, neurodegenerative disorders and HIV/AIDS) and have significant biotechnological potential. This expanding interest in extracellular vesicles has also highlighted some vexing problems related to their nomenclature. At the first meeting of the International Society for Extracellular Vesicles (ISEV) in Gothenburg, Sweden (April 2012), the authors chaired a session on the issue of vesicle nomenclature. Although it was not possible to reach a broad agreement on vesicle nomenclature, members of the session did reach consensus on 2 points. First, ISEV should strive to protect the scientific independence of its members on this issue. Second, that we (SJG and GR) should articulate some of the relevant points of concern in the Journal of Extracellular Vesicles.
Nomenclature Researchers have invented dozens of different names for secreted vesicles, most of which reflect specific functions (eg calcifying matrix vesicles that initiate bone formation (1) and tolerosomes that induce immunological tolerance to dietary antigens (2)) or their cell of origin (eg dust released by platelets (3) and prostasomes released by prostate epithelium (4)). Although such terms can be useful within a specialized field, more generic terms, such as ‘‘exosome’’and ‘‘microvesicle’’, have broader utility. Unfortunately, these generic terms mean different things to different investigators. For example, exosome can be used in 3 different ways, with some investigators preferring a biogenetic definition (ie vesicles that bud into endosomes and are released when the resulting multivesicular bodies fuse with the plasma membrane (5, 6)), others preferring the original, broad definition (ie secreted vesicles that ‘‘may serve a physiologic function’’(7, 8)) and still others employing an empirical definition based on differential centrifugation (ie vesicles that
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