**11. Conclusions**

Although EVs were once thought to serve as a garbage disposal system for cells, EVs are now regarded as important vehicles to shuttle biomolecules and allow for intercellular communication, cellular differentiation, intracellular signaling, and various other biological functions. The development of state-of the art equipment including advanced mass spectrometers for conducting lipidomic, proteomic, and *Mechanisms of Extracellular Vesicle Biogenesis, Cargo Loading, and Release DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.100458*

metabolomic studies coupled to bioinformatics for performing pathway analysis has led to a better understanding for the role of EVs in physiology and pathophysiology. The identification of packaged molecules within EVs is not only important for biomarker discovery and the identification of novel drug targets, but it also provide clues to answering other questions related to molecular mechanism. For example, as discussed earlier, various protozoan parasites are able to hijack the host cellular machinery to promote their own survival and propagation. The use of engineered EVs to deliver small molecule drugs is gaining attention as it represents an efficient mechanism to treat various diseases including cancers and metabolic diseases.

Although several fundamental questions surrounding the biogenesis, loading, and release of EVs have been answered within the past 10 years there are several questions that remain. First, the specific mechanisms that regulate the balance between the release of exosomes and the fates of ILVs remain largely unknown. Second, EVs may have a dichotomous role in either inhibiting or promoting viral infection, but there are unanswered questions for each distinct process. Third, mechanisms for the cell type specific recognition and uptake of EVs is not completely understood.
