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Exosomes

Exosomes are small membrane vesicles of endocytic origin secreted by most cell types in vitro. Cells continuously secrete a large number of microvesicles, exosomes and small molecules into the extracellular space. Exosomes have been shown to contain mRNA and miRNA and they are able to mediate communication between cells, by transport of RNA and proteins which can be functionalized in the recipient cell. The ability to transport bioactive cargoes, gives exosomes innate therapeutic potential as a natural drug carrier. Efficient techniques for loading drugs into exosomes to utilize the natural carrier capabilities of these vesicles remains to be elucidated.

Applications of Exosomes

The presence exosomes in blood, saliva, and urine paves the way for the possible application of exosomes as a diagnostic marker for diseases. Many diseases are difficult to detect by the methods and equipment available today and there is a growing demand for development of new non‐invasive methods to detect diseases in early stages. The use of exosomes as markers of disease is being investigated to cement their potential as a non-invasive diagnostic tool for early detection of many diseases, in particular cancers. This, however, relies on thorough characterisation of exosomes in both healthy and diseased states

An important factor to understanding the roles of exosomes is knowledge of their biodistribution. Currently, the number of publications describing the biodistribution of exosomes is limited. The main reason being the lack of a robust fluorescent label that can be visualised in vivo. Mapping the specific cell type derived exosomes can increase our knowledge on the roles of exosomes in the organism, as well as help to identify natural targeting systems.

Isolation, Characterisation and Fluorescent Labelling

The most common isolation protocol uses a differential centrifugation to fractionate cells, microvesicles, and exosomes, which are pelleted by ultracentrifugation. After vesicles are secreted from cells into the extracellular environment, it difficult to separate the different subpopulations of vesicles to obtain a pure sample. We have developed methods to optimise isolation and thorough characterisation procedures to obtain pure and well-characterised exosomes. Furthermore, we have developed a simple method for labelling of exosomes with a robust fluorescent label that can be visualised in vivo, allowing investigation of the biodistribution of different cell derived exosomes.

Collaborators:

Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University Hospital, Denmark

Dan Peer, Department of Cell Research & Immunology, Tel Aviv University, Israel

Moein Moghimi, school of Medicine, Pharmacy and Health, Durham University, UK

Recent Publications

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Nielsen, KH & Andersen, C 2025, 'Contested Narratives: The Dual-Use Dilemma in Atomic and Quantum Technologies', PCST 2025 Using Science Communication to effect positive change, Aberdeen, United Kingdom, 26/05/2025 - 29/05/2025.
Stepanenko, S, Nardino, E, Frumin, D, Timany, A & Birkedal, L 2025, Context-Dependent Effects in Guarded Interaction Trees. in V Vafeiadis (ed.), Programming Languages and Systems - 34th European Symposium on Programming, ESOP 2025, Held as Part of the International Joint Conferences on Theory and Practice of Software, ETAPS 2025, Proceedings. vol. Part II, Springer, Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol. 15695, pp. 286-313, 34th European Symposium on Programming, ESOP 2025, which was held as part of the International Joint Conferences on Theory and Practice of Software, ETAPS 2025, Hamilton, Canada, 03/05/2025. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-91121-7_12
Campbell, GA, Smith, P, Broothaerts, N, Panagos, P, Jones, A, Ballabio, C, De Rosa, D, de Jonge, LW, Arthur, E, Gomes, L, Shokri, N, Afshar, M, Tóth, G, Lehmann, P, Borrelli, P, Alewell, C, Minarik, R, Hengl, T, Wheeler, I, Maskell, L, Nussbaum, M, Jones, L, Feeney, CJ & Robinson, DA 2025, 'Continental Scale Soil Monitoring: A Proposed Multi-Scale Framing of Soil Quality', European Journal of Soil Science, vol. 76, no. 4, e70174. https://doi.org/10.1111/ejss.70174
Jakobsen, FW, Winsborrow, M, Nielsen, T, Laberg, JS, Plaza-Faverola, A, Böttner, C, López-Quirós, A, Planke, S & Bellwald, B 2025, 'Continental shelf glaciations off Northeast Greenland since the Late Miocene', Climate of the Past, vol. 21, no. 11, pp. 2441-2464. https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-21-2441-2025
Durmaz Mitchell, E, Kerdaffrec, E, Harney, E, Paulo, TF, Veselinovic, MS, Tanaskovic, M, Tyukmaeva, V, De Arcaya, TAF, Aksoy, C, Argyridou, E, Bailly, TPM, Can, D, Cobanoglu, E, Cook, N, Coşkun, S, Davidovic, S, Demir, E, Dias, T, Rasouli-Dogaheh, S, Duque, P, Eric, K, Eric, P, Erickson, P, Filipovski, F, Fishman, B, Glaser-Schmitt, A, Goldfischer, A, Green, L, Janillon, S, Jelic, M, Kostic, H, Kreiman, LE, Kremer, N, Lyrakis, M, Maistrenko, OM, Marti, SL, McGunnigle, M, Merenciano, M, Mira, MS, Montbel, V, Mouton, L, Mukha, DV, Murali, S, Patenkovic, A, Protsenko, O, Putero, FA, Reis, M, Roshina, NV, Rybina, OY, Schou, MF, Schowing, T, Senkal, SS, Serga, S, Trieu, V, Symonenko, AV, Trostnikov, MV, Tsybul'ko, EA, Van Den Heuvel, J, Van Waarde, D, Veselkina, ER, Vieira, CP, Wang, X, Zandveld, J, Abbott, J, Billeter, JC, Colinet, H, Ebrahimi, M, Gibert, P, Hrcek, J, Kankare, M, Kozeretska, I, Loeschcke, V, Mensch, J, Onder, BS, Parsch, J, Pasyukova, EG, Stamenkovic-Radak, M, Tauber, E, Vieira, C, Wegener, C, Hoedjes, KM, Zwaan, BJ, Betancourt, AJ, Fricke, C, Grath, S, Posnien, N, Vieira, J, Kapun, M, Schlötterer, C, Schmidt, P, Sucena, É, González, J, Bergland, A, Ritchie, MG & Flatt, T 2025, 'Continent-wide differentiation of fitness traits and patterns of climate adaptation among European populations of Drosophila melanogaster', Evolution Letters, vol. 9, no. 4, pp. 473-490. https://doi.org/10.1093/evlett/qraf014
Øfsti, M, Solvoll, M, Kristensen, L-B & Tallerås, K 2025, 'Contingent Discoverability: Understanding platform guidance and user autonomy on streaming services', NECS 2025, Lisbon, Portugal, 18/06/2025 - 21/06/2025.
Blümcke, I, Biesel, E, Wiebe, S, Beniczky, S, Wilmshurst, JM, Mehndiratta, MM, Asadi-Pooya, AA, Brandt, C, Arzimanoglou, A, Singh, G & the ILAE Academy content development faculty 2025, 'Continuing medical education in epileptology: The Level 1-2-3 experience of the ILAE academy', Epileptic Disorders, vol. 27, no. 5, pp. 707-717. https://doi.org/10.1002/epd2.70045
Bernardi, CD, Chapron, G, Kaczensky, P, Álvares, F, Andrén, H, Balys, V, Blanco, JC, Chiriac, S, Ćirović, D, Drouet-Hoguet, N, Huber, D, Iliopoulos, Y, Kojola, I, Krofel, M, Kutal, M, Linnell, JDC, Skrbinšek, AM, Männil, P, Marucco, F, Melovski, D, Mengüllüoğlu, D, Mergeay, J, Mysłajek, RW, Nowak, S, Ozoliņš, J, Ranc, N, Reinhardt, I, Rigg, R, Salvatori, V, Schley, L, Sunde, P, Trajçe, A, Trbojević, I, Trouwborst, A, von Arx, M, Zlatanova, D & Boitani, L 2025, 'Continuing recovery of wolves in Europe', PLOS Sustainability and Transformation, vol. 4, no. 2 February, e0000158. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pstr.0000158
Grasemann, C, Gravholt, CH, Breen, L, Aksglaede, L, Lucas-Herald, A, Alimussina, M, Boettcher, C, Wernsmann, J, Bauer, JJ, Bryce, J, Carlomagno, F, Hannema, SE, Isidori, A, Mazen, I, Nordenstroem, A & Ahmed, SF 2025, 'Continuity of care in Klinefelter syndrome: age-adapted modules for standardized clinical data collection (I-KS)', Endocrine Connections, vol. 14, no. 10, e250196. https://doi.org/10.1530/EC-25-0196
Gouveia, G, Saateh, A, Swietlikowska, A, Scarpellini, C, Tsang, E, Altug, H, Merkx, M, Dillen, A, Leirs, K, Spasic, D, Lammertyn, J, Gothelf, KV, Bonedeau, E, Porzberg, N, Smeets, RL, Koenen, HJPM, Prins, MWJ & de Jonge, MI 2025, 'Continuous Biosensing to Monitor Acute Systemic Inflammation, a Diagnostic Need for Therapeutic Guidance', ACS Sensors, vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 4-14. https://doi.org/10.1021/acssensors.4c02569
Akkas, AS 2025, 'Continuous innovation for digital servitization in manufacturing', Paper presented at The Continuous Innovation Network, Lucerne, Switzerland, 08/09/2025 - 09/09/2025 pp. 489-500. <https://cinet.org/members-area/proceedings/2025.html>
Lyngbaek, L, Feldkamp, P, Bizzoni, Y, Nielbo, KL & Enevoldsen, K 2025, Continuous Sentiment Scores for Literary and Multilingual Contexts. in Anthology of Computers and the Humanities: Computational Humanities Research 2025. vol. 3, Association for Computers and the Humanities, pp. 480-497. https://doi.org/10.63744/nVu1Zq5gRkuD
Cao, F, Sørensen, SS, Christensen, AKR, Mollick, S, Ge, X, Sun, D, Nielsen, AB, Nielsen, NC, Lock, N, Lu, R, Klemmt, R, Kristensen, PK, Jensen, LR, Dallari, F, Baglioni, J, Monaco, G, Karlsen, MA, Baran, V & Smedskjaer, MM 2025, 'Continuous structure modification of metal-organic framework glasses via halide salts', Nature Communications, vol. 16, no. 1, 7001. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-62143-9
Skoulakis, S, Feng, Y, Fujii, K, Cevher, V & Wang, X 2025, Continuous-Time Analysis of Heavy Ball Momentum in Min-Max Games. in Proceedings of the 42nd International Conference on Machine Learning. vol. 267, Proceedings of Machine Learning Research, pp. 16670-16710.
Digernes, MG, Bodur, YV, Amargant-Arumí, M, Müller, O, Hawkes, JA, Kohler, SG, Dietrich, U, Reigstad, M & Paulsen, ML 2025, 'Contrasting seasonal patterns in particle aggregation and dissolved organic matter transformation in a sub-Arctic fjord', Biogeosciences, vol. 22, no. 2, pp. 601-623. https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-601-2025
Hieronymus, F, López, E, Werin Sjögren, H & Lundberg, J 2025, 'Control Group Outcomes in Trials of Psilocybin, SSRIs, or Esketamine for Depression: A Meta-Analysis', JAMA Network Open, vol. 8, no. 7, e2524119, pp. e2524119. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.24119
Dahlsen-Jensen, MB, Fievet, B, Petrucci, L & van de Pol, J 2025, Controller Synthesis for Parametric Timed Games. in P Prabhakar & A Vandin (eds), Quantitative Evaluation of Systems and Formal Modeling and Analysis of Timed Systems - Second International Joint Conference, QEST+FORMATS 2025, Proceedings. Springer Science+Business Media, Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol. 16143 LNCS, pp. 314-332, 2nd International Joint Conference on Quantitative Evaluation of Systems and Formal Modeling and Analysis of Timed Systems, QEST+FORMATS 2025, Aarhus, Denmark, 26/08/2025. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-05792-1_17
Gratzer, D, Sterling, J, Angiuli, C, Coquand, T & Birkedal, L 2025, 'Controlling unfolding in type theory', Mathematical Structures in Computer Science, vol. 35, e38. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0960129525100327
Schlafer, S, Dige, I & Nyvad, B 2025, Control of Dental Caries by Minimally Invasive Restorative Intervention. in O Fejerskov & B Nyvad (eds), Dental Caries : The disease and its clinical management. 4 edn, Wiley-Blackwell, Chichester, pp. 363-380.
Placzek, M, Chinnaiya, K, Kim, DW & Blackshaw, S 2025, 'Control of tuberal hypothalamic development and its implications in metabolic disorders', Nature Reviews Endocrinology, vol. 21, no. 2, 2049, pp. 118-130. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41574-024-01036-1
Jørgensen, LN, Matzen, N, Madsen, H-P, Almskou-Dahlgaard, A, Nørholm, SR, Justesen, AF, Beck, BD & Abuley, IK 2025, Control strategies in different cereal cultivars. in BD Beck, LN Jørgensen, N Matzen, IK Abuley, PK Jensen & SR Nørholm (eds), Applied Crop Protection 2024. vol. 241, DCA - Nationalt Center for Fødevarer og Jordbrug, DCA rapport, no. 241, pp. 38-47.
Wan, KH, Wang, XY, Lai, KHW, Alio, JL, Ang, M, Chan, C, Chan, TCY, Cheng, GPM, Elsheikh, A, Hjortdal, J, Huang, G, Jhanji, V, Mehta, JS, Rao, SK, Sato, M, Sekundo, W, Sharma, N, Shetty, R, Wang, Y, Xiao, Y, Yang, Y, Zhai, C, Zhang, F, Zhou, X & Lam, DSC 2025, 'Controversies, consensuses and guidelines on Small Incision Lenticule Extraction (SMILE) by the Academy of Asia-Pacific Professors of Ophthalmology (AAPPO) and the Asia-Pacific Myopia Society (APMS)', Asia-Pacific Journal of Ophthalmology, vol. 14, no. 4, 100221, pp. 100221. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apjo.2025.100221
Coutant, MP, Pedersen, LJ & Larsen, MLV 2025, Conventional space density impairs night resting, feeder access, and pen hygiene in fattening pigs. in JE Bolhuis, I Reimert, M van der Sluis, K Visser & TB Rodenburg (eds), Proceedings of the 58th Congress of the ISAE. ISAE, International Society for Applied Ethology, pp. 419, 58th Congress of the International Society for Applied Ethology, Utrecht, Netherlands, 04/08/2025. <https://isae2025utrecht.nl/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/ISAE_Proceedings_6aug.pdf>
Coutant, MP, Pedersen, LJ & Larsen, MLV 2025, 'Conventional space density impairs night resting, feeder access, and pen hygiene in fattening pigs', 58th Congress of the International Society for Applied Ethology, Utrecht, Netherlands, 04/08/2025 - 08/08/2025.
Baudoin, F, Bonnefont, M & Chen, L 2025, Convergence to equilibrium for hypoelliptic non-symmetric Ornstein-Uhlenbeck-type operators. in F Baudoin & L Rizzi (eds), New Trends in Sub-Riemannian Geometry - AMS-EMS-SMF Special Session Sub-Riemannian Geometry and Interactions, 2022. American Mathematical Society, Contemporary Mathematics, vol. 809, pp. 103-122, AMS-EMS-SMF Special Session on Sub-Riemannian Geometry and Interactions, 2022, Grenoble, France, 18/07/2022. https://doi.org/10.1090/conm/809/16204
Zimmer, F, Fox, AM, Pan, Q, Rühle, F, Andersen, P, Huylmans, AK, Schwander, T, Basilicata, MF & Keller Valsecchi, CI 2025, 'Convergent evolution of H4K16ac-mediated dosage compensation in the ZW species Artemia franciscana', PLoS Genetics, vol. 21, no. 10, e1011895. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1011895
Gebeil, S, Rockembach, M, Balbi, G, Schafer, V, Aasman, S, Clavert, F, Byrne, H, Boté-Vericad, JJ, Healy, S, Laursen, D, Geeraert, F, Denis, LA, Maurer, Y, De Wild, K, Nielsen, J & Huc-Hepher, S 2025, Conversation 1: Transnational. in N Brügger, S Aasman & A Ben-David (eds), The Routledge Companion to Transnational Web Archive Studies. Routledge, Abingdon, pp. 110-118. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003398998-8
Geeraert, F, Kurzmeier, M, Denis, LA, Schafer, V, Németh, M, Rockembach, M, Huc-Hepher, S, Aasman, S, Weber, M, Winters, J & Nielsen, J 2025, Conversation 5: The future. in S Aasman, A Ben-David & N Brügger (eds), The Routledge Companion to Transnational Web Archive Studies. Routledge, Abingdon, pp. 422-425. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003398998-33
Asmuß, B 2025, Conversation Analysis. in R Kratochvil, P Spee & P Jarzabkowski (eds), Elgar Encyclopedia of Strategy as Practice. Edward Elgar Publishing, pp. 288.
Thomsen, C & Asmuß, B 2025, Conversation analysis in specialized communication. in Specialized Communication: An International Handbook. De Gruyter, Berlin, Handbücher zur Sprach- und Kommunikationswissenschaft / Handbooks of Linguistics and Communication Science / [HSK] , no. 1, vol. 47, pp. 495-512.