Outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) are spherical nanostructures that are ubiquitously shed from gram-negative bacteria both in vitro and in vivo. Recent findings revealed that OMVs, which contain diverse components derived from the parent bacterium, play an important role in communication with neighboring bacteria and the environment. Furthermore, nanoscale proteoliposomes decorated with pathogen-associated molecules attract considerable attention as a non-replicative carrier for vaccines and drug materials. This review introduces recent advances in OMV biogenesis and discusses the roles of OMVs in the context of bacterial communication and virulence regulation. It also describes the remarkable accomplishments in OMV engineering for diverse therapeutic applications.
Keywords: Outer membrane vesicle; biogenesis; pathogen; virulence.