title: Exosomes and Other Extracellular Vesicles: The New Communicators in Parasite Infections.
abstract: Extracellular vesicles (EVs) have emerged as a ubiquitous mechanism for transferring information between cells and organisms across all three kingdoms of life. In addition to their roles in normal physiology, vesicles also transport molecules from pathogens to hosts and can spread antigens as well as infectious agents. Although initially described in the host-pathogen context for their functions in immune surveillance, vesicles enable multiple modes of communication by, and between, parasites. Here we review the literature demonstrating that EVs are secreted by intracellular and extracellular eukaryotic parasites, as well as their hosts, and detail the functional properties of these vesicles in maturation, pathogenicity and survival. We further describe the prospects for targeting or exploiting these complexes in therapeutic and vaccine strategies.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Immunology and Infection Research, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3FL, UK; Centre for Immunity, Infection, and Evolution, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3FL, UK.
authors.forename: Gillian
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Coakley
authors.affiliation: Institute of Immunology and Infection Research, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3FL, UK; Centre for Immunity, Infection, and Evolution, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3FL, UK.
authors.forename: Rick M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Maizels
authors.affiliation: Institute of Immunology and Infection Research, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3FL, UK; Centre for Immunity, Infection, and Evolution, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3FL, UK. Electronic address: a.buck@ed.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Amy H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Buck
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002450:Cell Communication / Q000502:physiology; D055354:Exosomes / Q000378:metabolism*; D000067128:Extracellular Vesicles / Q000378:metabolism*; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D010271:Parasites / Q000472:pathogenicity / Q000502:physiology*; D010272:Parasitic Diseases / Q000378:metabolism*