Extracellular vesicles in and mammals: Conserved mechanisms and emerging functional roles.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are membrane-enclosed particles released by cells carrying proteins, lipids, metabolites and nucleic acids that can alter the behavior of recipient cells. In mammalian systems, EVs have been studied extensively as important mediators of intercellular and interorgan communication in development, tissue homeostasis, immunity, regeneration, metabolism, cancer and neurobiology. In parallel, has emerged as a powerful model for EV research owing to its genetic tractability and the availability of well-established tools for studying interorgan communication. Work in has shown that EVs participate in synaptic cargo transfer, developmental and reproductive signaling, neuronal homeostasis and systemic immune responses. Importantly, most of the pathways that regulate endosomal sorting, multivesicular body dynamics, membrane budding and vesicle secretion are conserved between flies and mammals. This review summarizes current understanding of EV nomenclature, biogenesis, cargo selection and biological function, with emphasis on points of convergence and divergence between mammalian and systems. It further discusses the strengths and limitations of as a model for mammalian EV biology and highlights how comparative approaches can sharpen mechanistic insight and translational EV studies.