Formation of giant plasma membrane vesicles for biological and medical applications: a review

Abstract

Giant plasma membrane vesicles (GPMVs) are micron-sized biomembrane vesicles that are isolated directly from living cells. They retain the lipid and protein complexity of the plasma membrane of the parent cell while lack the energy-mediated pathway of the cell; therefore, PMVs provide an alternative to vesicles constructed from synthetic or purified lipids as an experimental model system for use in a wide range of biomedical applications. In this review, we provide an overview of recent research on the formation of PMVs and on their unique structure and functional properties. We then discuss efforts to exploit them in biological and biomedical applications. For example, PMVs have been developed as cell mimics and plasma models to study the structure and composition of the plasma membrane and its interactions with other molecules, as drug carriers for targeted delivery and as probes for disease diagnostics. Finally, we provide some perspectives on the challenges and future developments of PMV research in biomimetic science and biomedical applications. GPMVs discussed in this review are restricted to those produced from mammalian cells.