Fig. 3
From: Extracellular vesicles as regulators of kidney function and disease
Vascular effects of circulating EVs from patients with kidney injury. Blood EVs from patients with CKD convey pathologic effects on the vessel wall compared to EVs from healthy donors in vitro. These include increased endothelial apoptosis, reduced angiogenesis (not displayed), vascular calcification by VSMC osteochondrogenic differentiation and reduced endothelial NO production as a marker for endothelial dysfunction. The concentration of EC-EVs in patient samples revealed a positive correlation with these effects, pointing towards a potential pathologic effect of EC-EVs in the promotion of vascular complications in CKD