Fig. 1
From: The role of extracellular vesicles in COPD and potential clinical value
Depiction of EVs subtybes and biogenesis. Exosomes are a type of extracellular vesicle that range in size from 50 to 150 nm and are formed in multivesicular bodies (MVBs) before release in living cell. Microvesicles are a type of extracellular vesicle that range in size from 50 to 500 nm (up to 1 μm) and are larger than exosomes. Microvesicles are released from the cell membrane surface through a process of budding in living cell. Apoptotic bodies, released as blebs of cells undergoing apoptosis, typically fall within a larger size range of 1–4 μm