Extracellular vesicles: eat glutamine and spit acidic bubbles

Extracellular vesicles mediate transfer of diverse molecular content to target cells in order to induce phenotypic changes, which has put them under the spotlight as likely major players in cell-to-cell communication. However, extracellular vesicle heterogeneity in terms of intracellular origin has only recently been recognized as a potential determinant of their activity. Recent work by Fan et al (2020) illustrates how lack of external resources that affect cellular homeostasis and signaling can also modulate EV biogenesis, by inducing the production of a novel subpopulation of exosomes enriched in Rab11a with context-dependent roles in Drosophila gland physiology and cancer cell aggressiveness.