Review Article
The Role of Microparticles in Rheumatic Diseases and their Potentials as Therapeutic Tools
Wen-Hai Shao*
Section of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine, Temple University, Philadelphia, United States
- *Corresponding Author:
- Wen-Hai Shao
Section of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine
Temple University, Philadelphia, United States
Tel: 001-215-707-8751
Fax: 001-215-707-6353
E-mail: wshao@temple.edu
Received Date: June 14, 2016; Accepted Date: July 13, 2016; Published Date: July 19, 2016
Citation: Shao WH (2016) The Role of Microparticles in Rheumatic Diseases and their Potentials as Therapeutic Tools. J Mol Immunol 1:101.
Copyright: © 2016 Shao WH. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Abstract
Microparticles (MPs, also known as microvesicules or ectosomes) are heterogeneous subcellular vesicular particles (0.1-1.0 nm in diameter) released constitutively from cells and platelets undergoing cell activation or cell death by blebbing or shedding. Platelet MPs are usually the most abundant type in blood. The presence of basal levels of MPs is common in healthy individuals, and is estimated, in peripheral blood, to range between 5 and 50 g/ml (105-106 MPs/ml). Numerous types of MPs have been characterized with important physiologic effects by the detection of different cell surface antigens reflecting their origin and activation method.
