Interest in the role of extracellular vesicles (microvesicles and exosomes) is expanding rapidly. It is now apparent that far from being merely cellular debris, these vesicles play a key role in cell-to-cell communication and signaling. Moreover, they are significantly elevated in a number of diseases. This raises the question of their direct role in pathogenesis as well as their possible use as biomarkers. This book stems from the first international meeting on "Microvesicles and Nanovesicles in Health and Disease" held at Magdalen College, Oxford, in 2010. The purpose of the meeting was to bring together, for the first time, a range of experts from around the world to discuss the latest advances in this field. Key to the study of these vesicles is the availability of methodologies for their measurement in biological fluids. A major section of the meeting focused on a range of exciting new technologies which have been developed for this purpose. The presentations at this meeting form the basis of this book, which will appeal to basic scientists, clinicians, and those developing technology for the measurement of extracellular vesicles.

The book provides and intensive overview on exosomes in cardiovascular diseases, its potential as biomarkers, as well as pathological and therapeutic effects. It firstly describes the general aspects of exosomes including the definition, formation and secretion of exosomes and highlight their roles as biomarkers and pathological and therapeutic effects in cardiovascular diseases as well. Secondly, basic aspects of exosomes including the purification methods of exosomes, exosomes content, and functional roles of the cardiovascular exosomes are summarized. Thirdly, exosomes as biomarkers of cardiovascular diseases are overviewed including their roles in diagnosis, prognosis and reaction to therapy. Fourthly, pathological effects of exosomes and therapeutic effects of exosomes are highlighted. Finally, future prospects of exosomes in cardiovascular research would be provided. This is an essential reference for researchers working in cell biology and regeneration, as well as clinicians such as cardiologist.

Extracellular vesicle is a wide term that involves many different types of vesicles. Almost all the cell types studied secrete vesicles to the extracellular environment related to cell - cell communication. Extracellular vesicles have been found in different biological fluids, such as blood, milk, saliva, tears, urine, and cerebrospinal fluid. These vesicles transport different molecules, including mRNA, proteins, and lipids, some of them cell type specific that make them ideal biomarkers in both health and disease conditions. However, their contribution to different conditions is not well understood. The aim of this book is to provide an overview of the extracellular vesicles in the human body, how they are internalized, and their participation in several diseases.

Bridging the gap between basic scientific advances and the understanding of liver disease — the extensively revised new edition of the premier text in the field. The latest edition of The Liver: Biology and Pathobiology remains a definitive volume in the field of hepatology, relating advances in biomedical sciences and engineering to understanding of liver structure, function, and disease pathology and treatment. Contributions from leading researchers examine the cell biology of the liver, the pathobiology of liver disease, the liver’s growth, regeneration, metabolic functions, and more. Now in its sixth edition, this classic text has been exhaustively revised to reflect new discoveries in biology and their influence on diagnosing, managing, and preventing liver disease. Seventy new chapters — including substantial original sections on liver cancer and groundbreaking advances that will have significant impact on hepatology — provide comprehensive, fully up-to-date coverage of both the current state and future direction of hepatology. Topics include liver RNA structure and function, gene editing, single-cell and single-molecule genomic analyses, the molecular biology of hepatitis, drug interactions and engineered drug design, and liver disease mechanisms and therapies. Edited by globally-recognized experts in the field, this authoritative volume: Relates molecular physiology to understanding disease pathology and treatment Links the science and pathology of the liver to practical clinical applications Features 16 new “Horizons” chapters that explore new and emerging science and technology Includes plentiful full-color illustrations and figures The Liver: Biology and Pathobiology, Sixth Edition is an indispensable resource for practicing and trainee hepatologists, gastroenterologists, hepatobiliary and liver transplant surgeons, and researchers and scientists in areas including hepatology, cell and molecular biology, virology, and drug metabolism.

Exosomes: A Clinical Compendium is a comprehensive and authoritative account of exosomes in the context of biomarkers, diagnostics, and therapeutics across a wide spectrum of medical disciplines, as well as their role in cell-cell communication. It is intended to serve as a reference source for clinicians, physicians, and research scientists who wish to gain insight into the most recent advances in this rapidly growing field. The exosome revolution may well be the greatest advance in physiology and medicine since antibiotics. The discovery of their epigenetic role in intercellular signaling in virtually all tissues is a major breakthrough in our understanding of how cells function. - Provides readers with a broad and timely overview of exosomes in health and disease, closing with a thought-provoking chapter on transgenerational inheritance, Darwin and Lamarck. - Summarizes the most recent laboratory and clinical findings on exosomes across numerous medical disciplines, thereby offering readers a broad-ranging and solid foundation for prospective investigative efforts - Twenty-one chapters authored by a global team of peer-acknowledged experts, each representing a key medical disciplineProvides readers with a broad and timely overview of exosomes in health and disease, closing

Extracellular Vesicles, Volume 645 in the Methods in Enzymology series, continues the legacy of this premier serial with quality chapters authored by leaders in the field. Chapters in this new release include Genetic labeling of extracellular vesicle exosomes for studying biogenesis and uptake in living mammalian cells, Fluorescent Labeling of Extracellular Vesicles, Isolation of extracellular vesicles from lymph, Transgenic rats for tracking body fluid/tissue-derived extracellular vesicles, Isolation of amniotic extracellular vesicles, Urinary extracellular vesicle isolation, Immunocapture-based ELISA to Characterize and Quantify Extracellular Vesicles in Both Cell Culture Supernatants and Body Fluids, and much more. Provides the authority and expertise of leading contributors from an international board of authors Presents the latest release in the Methods in Enzymology series

Advances in anti-cancer chemotherapy over recent years have led to improved efficacy in curing or controlling many cancers. Some chemotherapy-related side-effects are well recognized and include: nausea, vomiting, bone marrow suppression, peripheral neuropathy, cardiac and skeletal muscle dysfunction and renal impairment. However, it is becoming clearer that some chemotherapy-related adverse effects may persist even in long term cancer survivors. Problems such as cognitive, cardiovascular and gastrointestinal dysfunction, and neuropathy may lead to substantial long term morbidity. Despite improvements in treatments to counteract acute chemotherapy-induced adverse effects, they are often incompletely effective. Furthermore, counter-measures for some acute side-effects and many potential longer term sequelae of anti-cancer chemotherapy have not been developed. Thus, new insights into prevalence and mechanisms of cancer chemotherapy-related side effects are needed and new approaches to improving tolerance and reduce sequelae of cancer chemotherapy are urgently needed. The present Research Topic focuses on adverse effects and sequelae of chemotherapy and strategies to counteract them.

This book provides an in-depth overview on the manifold functions of fungal extracellular vesicles (EV) which span from cell-to-cell communication, pathogenicity and stimulation of host’s immunity to export of hundreds of biomolecules. The book summarizes the present knowledge on the impact of extracellular vesicles on fungal biology. Extracellular vesicles participate in fundamental biological processes in all living cells but only during the last 15 years the production and functions of EVs were identified and studied in fungal species too. Up to date more than 50 independent studies have shown that extracellular vesicles are produced by at least 20 fungal species. The book addresses researchers and advanced students in Microbiology, Mycology and Biotechnology.

Extracellular and biofluids vesicles (EVs) are highly specialised yet ubiquitous nanoscale messengers secreted by cells. With the development of stem cell engineering, EVs promise to deliver next generation tools in regenerative medicine and tissue engineering, as well as in diagnostics. A vibrant and promising field, this book provides the first resource to the field. Covering basic cell biology, including EV production and intracellular communication, this book will provide material scientists and engineers with a foundation to the necessary biology. The reader will then learn about the isolation of extracellular vesicles their physicochemical characterisation and therapeutic application of EVs in regenerative medicine as well as their potential as biomarkers in medical diagnostic. This book will also discuss the regulatory landscape of EVs. Bridging cell biology, biomaterials, biophysics and biomedical engineering the content of this book is written with a broad interdisciplinary audience in mind. Researchers, new and established will find this a must-have on their shelf.

Neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) composed of intracellular aggregates of tau protein are a key neuropathological feature of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) and other neurodegenerative diseases, collectively termed tauopathies. The abundance of NFTs has been reported to correlate positively with the severity of cognitive impairment in AD. However, accumulating evidences derived from studies of experimental models have identified that NFTs themselves may not be neurotoxic. Now, many of tau researchers are seeking a “toxic” form of tau protein. Moreover, it was suggested that a “toxic” tau was capable to seed aggregation of native tau protein and to propagate in a prion-like manner. However, the exact neurotoxic tau species remain unclear. Because mature tangles seem to be non-toxic component, “tau oligomers” as the candidate of “toxic” tau have been investigated for more than one decade. In this topic, we will discuss our consensus of “tau oligomers” because the term of “tau oligomers” [e.g. dimer (disulfide bond-dependent or independent), multimer (more than dimer), granular (definition by EM or AFM) and maybe small filamentous aggregates] has been used by each researchers definition. From a biochemical point of view, tau protein has several unique characteristics such as natively unfolded conformation, thermo-stability, acid-stability, and capability of post-translational modifications. Although tau protein research has been continued for a long time, we are still missing the mechanisms of NFT formation. It is unclear how the conversion is occurred from natively unfolded protein to abnormally mis-folded protein. It remains unknown how tau protein can be formed filaments [e.g. paired helical filament (PHF), straight filament and twisted filament] in cells albeit in vitro studies confirmed tau self-assembly by several inducing factors. Researchers are still debating whether tau oligomerization is primary event rather than tau phosphorylation in the tau pathogenesis. Inhibition of either tau phosphorylation or aggregation has been investigated for the prevention of tauopathies, however, it will make an irrelevant result if we don’t know an exact target of neurotoxicity. It is a time to have a consensus of definition, terminology and methodology for the identification of “tau oligomers”.