Exosomes are Extracellular Vesicles (EVs), but not all EVs are exosomes. They contain  biologically active cargo (proteins, nucleic acids, and growth factors) which are enclosed in  a lipid bilayer membrane. Exosomes are one of the three main subtypes of EVs. The uniqueness of exosomes is that they can initiate metabolic reprogramming. They package biologically active cargo and deliver it to a neighboring cell and alter the recipient cell’s functions with its delivery.

They are measured in nanometers (nm) or billionths of a meter and have a size range of   30 - 150nm (by comparison a hair follicle is about 50 - 90 microns which is a thousand times larger than a nanometer). The other two subtypes of EVs are micro-vesicles and apoptotic bodies with a size range of 100nm - 1000nm and 50 - 5000nm respectively. They are also differentiated from exosomes based upon their biogenesis, release pathways, content, and function.

Exosomes are secreted by virtually every cell in the body and are cell specific. Each different type of tissue secretes an exosome specific to that type of tissue (heart, liver, lung, umbilical cord, placenta, etc.). It has since been found that exosomes participate in cell–cell communication and cell maintenance with their parent cells, thus playing a role in tissue repair and regeneration.

To be a “true” exosome the lipid bilayer membrane must be intact and its cargo must be biologically active. Scientists agree that the most important part of an exosome are the proteins because the proteins are the fuel that powers the change in a cell.

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