Extracellular Vesicles: Living Prototypal Communication System

Communication is an ever-present part of our world. Such transfer of information occurs on many levels from the spoken natural languages, to artificial languages, to the cellular exchanges that govern the molecular world. Cells interact using various coded and non-coded molecules, which although not natural languages, could be considered types of biological language. These molecules are packaged into extracellular vesicles by cells from all three domains of life. Vesicles may then participate in intracellular trafficking of their cargo molecules. Or cells may secrete vesicles into the extracellular world, from where they are transported to, and taken up by, target recipient cells. Once delivered, extracellular vesicles exert a plethora of physiological and pathological effects, as well as an influence on recipient cell evolution. In executing their functions, both vesicles and their molecular cargo face evolutionary pressures over time and across habitats, forcing them to adapt to meet changing needs. This chapter will present extracellular vesicles as a highly conserved prototypal communication system.