Crossroads of the endosomal machinery: Multivesicular bodies, small extracellular vesicles and autophagy
The primary role of endosomal system is endocytic trafficking – to sort out internalized macromolecules and proteins to their destined cellular localizations. Incorporation of sorted cargos into multivesicular bodies (MVBs) confers specificities and determines their fates. This central point of the endosomal trafficking separates MVBs in two directions. The MVB populations fuse either with lysosomes to initiate autophagy or with plasma membrane to release small extracellular vesicles. Factors contributing to the selection of cargo and direction of trafficking incorporate the cells’ metabolic status and stress level. In this review, we discuss the molecular cues responsible for differential cargo sorting into MVBs and trafficking directions of MVBs in the endosomal network. Keywords: Exosomes; degradative MVB; secretory MVB; physiological stress; endocytic machinery; lysosome