查看文章

Membrane-derived microvesicles (MVs) are released from the cell surface and are implicated in cell-to-cell communication. We evaluated whether MVs derived from endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) are able to trigger angiogenesis. We found that EPC-derived MVs were incorporated in endothelial cells by interaction with α4 and β1 integrins expressed on the MV surface. In vitro, MVs promoted endothelial cell survival, proliferation, and organization in capillary-like structures. In vivo, in severe combined immunodeficient (SCID) mice, MV-stimulated human endothelial cells organized in patent vessels. When incubated with RNase, despite their internalization into endothelial cells, MVs failed to induce in vitro and in vivo angiogenic effects. mRNA transfer was shown by transduction of GFP protein in endothelial cells by MVs containing GFP-mRNA and the biologic relevance by the angiogenic effect of MV-mRNA …