RNA-binding proteins expressed in differentiating rat astrocytes

Extracellular membrane vesicles can mediate intercellular transfer of molecules

Many eukaryotic cell types, including neural cells, release into the extracellular environment vesicles of different sizes and composition. Neurons and astrocytes shed extracellular vesicles which contain FGF2 and VEGF and could be involved in interaction with endothelial cells, to form the blood-brain barrier. Also brain tumor cells, such as glioblastomas, release vesicles in the extracellular space. Microvesicles (MVs) shed from G26/24 oligodendro¬glioma cells were previously reported to contain FAS-L and to cause a reproducible, dose-dependent, inhibitory effect on neurite outgrowth, and neuronal apoptosis, when added to primary cultures of rat cortical neurons. More recently, they were …