Exosomes are secreted extracellular vesicles carrying diverse molecular cargos, which can modulate recipient cell behaviour. They are thought to derive from intraluminal vesicles formed in late endosomal multivesicular bodies (
MVB
s). An alternate exosome formation mechanism, which is conserved from fly to human, is described here, with exosomes carrying unique cargos, including the
GTP
ase Rab11, generated in Rab11‐positive recycling endosomal
MVB
s. Release of Rab11‐positive exosomes from cancer cells is increased relative to late endosomal exosomes by reducing growth regulatory Akt/mechanistic Target of Rapamycin Complex 1 (
mTORC
1) signalling or depleting the key metabolic substrate glutamine, which diverts membrane flux through recycling endosomes. Vesicles produced under these conditions promote tumour cell proliferation and turnover and modulate blood vessel networks in xenograft mouse models
in vivo
. Their growth‐promoting activity, which is also observed
in vitro
, is Rab11a‐dependent, involves
ERK
‐
MAPK
‐signalling and is inhibited by antibodies against amphiregulin, an
EGFR
ligand concentrated on these vesicles. Therefore, glutamine depletion or
mTORC
1 inhibition stimulates release from Rab11a compartments of exosomes with pro‐tumorigenic functions, which we propose promote stress‐induced tumour adaptation.
Osteoclasts are giant multinucleated myeloid cells specialized for bone resorption, which is essential to preserve bone health throughout life. The activity of osteoclasts relies on the typical organization of osteoclast cytoskeleton components into a highly complex structure comprising actin, microtubules and other cytoskeletal proteins that constitutes the backbone of the bone resorption apparatus. The development of methods to obtain osteoclasts in culture and manipulate them genetically, as well as improvements in cell-imaging technologies, allowed shedding light onto the molecular mechanisms that control the structure and dynamics of the osteoclast cytoskeleton, and thus the mechanism of bone resorption. Although essential for normal bone physiology, abnormal osteoclast activity can cause bone defects, in particular their hyper-activation commonly associated with many pathologies, hormonal imbalance and medical treatments. Increased bone degradation by osteoclasts provokes progressive bone loss, leading to osteoporosis, with the resulting bone frailty resulting in fractures, loss of autonomy and premature death. In this context, the osteoclast cytoskeleton has recently proven to be a relevant therapeutic target for controlling pathological bone resorption levels. Here, we review our present knowledge about the regulatory mechanisms of the osteoclast cytoskeleton that control their bone resorption activity in normal and pathological conditions.
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