Fig. 3
From: Current aspects of small extracellular vesicles in pain process and relief
sEVs in synaptic plasticity. The sEVs encapsulate neurotransmitters, membrane proteins, RNAs, receptors et al. NDEVs promote the expressions of GLT1 on astrocytes and carry out GluR2 to reduce AMPA receptors in synapses. These effects balance glutamate activity in the synaptic cleft. Moreover, LTP promotes the production of NDEVs, and the released synaptic vesicles participate in the formation of LTP. MDEVs promote the excitation of neurons by enhancing glutamatergic transmission and inhibiting GABA transmission. NDEV-PRR7 eliminates excitatory synapse proteins. sEV: small extracellular vesicle; GluR2: glutamate receptor-2; GLT1: glutamate transporter-1; NDEVs: neuron-derived small extracellular vesicles; MDEV: microglia-derived small extracellular vesicle; LTP: long-term potentiation; PRR7: Proline-rich 7; GABA: γ-aminobutyric acid