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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, FE, Abdullah, OB, Chafranska, L, Schmidt, TA & Søresnen, RH 2026, 'Temperature at admission and mortality in older adults with infection: Limited prognostic value in non-sepsis cases', American Journal of Emergency Medicine, vol. 103, pp. 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajem.2026.01.045
Jeremiassen, NEO, Jia, Y, Hansen, V, Friis, H, Larsen, MB, Olsen, M & Ulrich, T 2026, 'Temperature effect on seawater leaching of Pb, Zn, and F from waste rock at Ivittuut cryolite mine in South Greenland', Environmental Science and Pollution Research, vol. 33, no. 11, pp. 4851-4863. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-026-37562-w
Schmidt, BM & Plotnikof, M 2026, Temporal Governance Through Rhythmic Organizing: Exploring Polyrhythms of Fixed and Fluid Times in a Case of School Inclusion. in R Laursen & M Madsen (eds), Education and the Politics of Time: Temporal Governance in Teaching and Learning. Springer Science+Business Media, Educational Governance Research, vol. 26, pp. 117-137. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-09590-9_7
Burta, O, Akbarian, F, Rossi, C, Vidaurre, D, D'hooghe, MB, D'Haeseleer, M, Nagels, G & Van Schependom, J 2026, 'Temporally Defined Brain Network Activation Associated With Slowed Information Processing Speed in Multiple Sclerosis', Human Brain Mapping, vol. 47, no. 3, e70478. https://doi.org/10.1002/hbm.70478
Tong, B, Farmer, JR, Rosner, J, Noonan, VK, Cragg, JJ, Griesdale, D, Shuster, C & Kramer, JLK 2026, 'Temporal trends in gabapentinoid use for the acute management of spinal cord injury: a retrospective cohort study', Spinal Cord, vol. 64, no. 3, pp. 288-295. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41393-026-01172-7
Gundersen, TW, Knorr, S, Ringholm, L, Moeller Jensen, D, Damm, P, Kragelund Nielsen, K, Backman, H, Lauenborg, J, Mathiesen, ER, Petersen, AH, Skipper, N, Kofoed-Enevoldsen, A & Clausen, TD 2026, 'Temporal Trends in Pregnancy Outcomes Among Parents With Type 1 Diabetes: A Nationwide Register-Based Study', BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. https://doi.org/10.1111/1471-0528.70174
Halbig, JM, Stoustrup, P, Kristensen, KD, Frid, P, Rypdal, V, Songstad, NT, Augdal, TA, Fischer, J, Gil, EG, Cetrelli, L, Lundestad, A, Angenete, O, Aukland, SM, Tylleskär, K, Rosen, A, Skeie, MS, Rygg, M, Rosendahl, K, Jönsson, B & Nordal, E 2026, 'Temporomandibular disorder in children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis with and without temporomandibular joint involvement compared to controls: a two-year prospective multicenter cohort study', BMC Oral Health, vol. 26, no. 1, 334. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12903-026-07738-4
Bennett-Tennenhaus, R, Goodbody, I, Letz, JC & Shah, A 2026, 'Tensor extriangulated categories', Journal of Algebra, vol. 685, pp. 361-405. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jalgebra.2025.07.041
Agkathidis, A, Hudert, M & Medel-Vera, C 2026, Terminology and Definitions. in SpringerBriefs in Architectural Design and Technology. Springer, SpringerBriefs in Architectural Design and Technology, vol. Part F1429, pp. 15-19. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-95-0760-3_2
van Emde Boas, E 2026, ‘Terrifying and Full of Power’: Agency and Affect in Homer's Ballistics. in A Novokhatko & J Devereaux (eds), Embodied Natural and Artificial Intelligence in Classics and Philosophy. De Gruyter.
Krieger, J & Parks Pieper, L 2026, 'Testing Boundaries: Claiming Authority of Sex in Sport', International Journal of the History of Sport, pp. 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1080/09523367.2026.2627484
Matschei, T, Braymand, S, Garg, N, Huet, B, Jansen, D, Myers, RJ, Scruggs, B, Bernard, E, Bertola, J, Cazacliu, B, Ellwood, L, Felten, C, Ferrara, G, Garboczi, E, Gholizadeh Vayghan, A, Hafez, H, Hanein, T, Kanavaris, F, Mahoutian, M, Maruyama, I, Roux, S, Turcry, P, Skibsted, J, Snellings, R, Srivastava, S, Vial, V, Wei, J, Zajac, M, Zhang, Z & Suraneni, P 2026, 'Test methods for CO2 mineralization in cement-based materials: A review by RILEM TC 309-MCP', Materials and Structures/Materiaux et Constructions, vol. 59, no. 4, 175. https://doi.org/10.1617/s11527-026-03064-x
Baastrup Soendergaard, M, Håkansson, KEJ, Hansen, S, Bjerrum, A-S, Schmid, JM, Johansson, SL, Rasmussen, LM, Johnsen, CR, Bonnesen, B, Vijdea, R, von Bülow, A, Krogh, NS, Hilberg, O, Ulrik, CS & Porsbjerg, C 2026, 'Tezepelumab in real-life practice: Characteristics of patients commenced and efficacy in a nationwide, Danish cohort of patients with severe asthma', The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice, vol. 14, no. 2, pp. 418-426. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaip.2025.09.001
Wehmeyer, L, Baldermann, JC, Pogosyan, A, Rodriguez Plazas, F, Loehrer, PA, Bonetti, L, Yassine, S, zur Mühlen, K, Schüller, T, Kuhn, J, Visser-Vandewalle, V, Tan, H & Andrade, P 2026, 'Thalamo-frontal functional connectivity patterns in Tourette Syndrome: Insights from combined intracranial DBS and EEG recordings', Molecular Psychiatry, vol. 31, no. 1, pp. 231-242. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41380-025-03220-9
Meyer, MF, Mesman, JP, Barbosa, CC, Borrelli, JJ, Feldbauer, J, Harlan, ME, Hensley, RT, Kuyumcu, B, Ladwig, R, Oleksy, IA, Pilla, RM, Zwart, JA, Biddle, MM, Kinzel, PJ, Legleiter, CJ, Moore, TN, Murray, TW, Nkwalale, LGT, Overstreet, BT, Rumman, MH & Woelmer, WM 2026, 'The 2025 “Hacking Limnology” Workshop Series and DSOS Virtual Summit: A Half Decade of Data-Intensive Aquatic Science', Limnology and Oceanography Bulletin, vol. 35, no. 1, pp. 43-45. https://doi.org/10.1002/lob.70017
Phan, K, Galbany, L, Müller-Bravo, TE, Bose, S, Burns, CR, Stritzinger, MD, Sørensen, CTG, Ashall, C, Castander, FJ, Jiménez Palau, C, Johansson, J, Anderson, JP, Chambers, KC, Gromadzki, M, Pessi, PJ & Chen, TW 2026, 'The ANDICAM-SOFI Near-infrared and Optical type Ia Supernova (ASNOS) sample: Description and data release', Astronomy and Astrophysics, vol. 706, A348. https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202556113
Haenel, A, Jukema, RA, Khoo, JK, Coughlan, F, Blanke, P, Ferkh, A, Fairbairn, T, Ng, N, Koweek, LM, Douglas, P, Rabbat, M, Pontone, G, Chinnaiyan, KM, De Bruyne, B, Bax, J, Amano, T, Nieman, K, Rogers, C, Kitabata, H, Sand, NP, Kawasaki, T, Mullen, S, Huey, W, Matsuo, H, Patel, M, Nørgaard, BL, Leipsic, JA, Tzimas, G & ADVANCE Investigators 2026, 'The association of risk factors on coronary computed tomography angiography derived atherosclerotic plaque volume - Lessons from the ADVANCE registry', Atherosclerosis, vol. 413, 120515. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atherosclerosis.2025.120515
Babai, N, Duvall, E, Iivari, N, Kinnula, M & Iversen, OS 2026, Theatre of the Tech-Oppressed: Exploring algorithmic injustice through participatory performances. in Participatory Design Conference. Association for Computing Machinery.
Frandsen, F & Johansen, W 2026, The battle between voices in the rhetorical arena of social media crises. in D Koerber (ed.), The Culture of the Social Media Crisis: Causes, Impact, Consequences. University of Toronto Press.
Sindlev, MB, Balmonte, JP, Wenzhöfer, F, Xiao, W, Stief, P, Oguri, K, Tsuchiya, M, Yokoyama, Y, Rudra, A, Canfield, DE, Sanei, H, Brandt, A & Glud, RN 2026, 'The benthic environment of the Aleutian Trench region: Sediment provenance, organic carbon sources and deposition dynamics', Progress in Oceanography, vol. 241, 103627. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pocean.2025.103627
Vandsø, A 2026, The Botanical Grotesque: Interspecies Care, Power, and Vegetal mythologies in Contemporary Art. in E Erlanson, J Wamberg & N Skiveren (eds), Grotesque Anthropocene : Disfigured Environments Across Media. Palgrave Macmillan, Palgrave Studies in Intermediality. <https://link.springer.com/series/17132>
Jelsig, AM, Boelman, MB, Birkedal, U, Hübertz, J, Al-Zehawi, L, Lautrup, C, Karstensen, JG & van Overeem Hansen, T 2026, 'The c.1744G > C, p.(Glu582Gln) missense variant in coding exon 14 of APC increases skipping of a natural occurring isoform and causes Familial Adenomatous Polyposis', Journal of Cancer Research and Clinical Oncology, vol. 152, no. 1, 3. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00432-025-06357-w
Goldsmith, S, McIntyre, S, Badawi, N, Dan, B, Day, S, Himmelmann, K, Hollung, SJ, Jacobsson, B, Rackauskaite, G & Reynolds, RJ 2026, 'The cerebral palsy directed acyclic graph: A structural causal model of aetiology', Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology. https://doi.org/10.1111/dmcn.70267
Hou, Y, Zou, D, Chu, Q, Zhan, B, Wang, R, Guan, D, Wang, W, Feng, X, Li, X, Zhu, X, Bai, Z, Gao, Y, Yin, H, Xu, T, Yuan, Z, Hu, X, Yang, N, Zhou, H, Fang, L & Zhang, Z 2026, 'The ChickenGTEx portal: a pan-tissue catalogue of regulatory variants shaping transcriptomic and phenotypic diversity', Nucleic Acids Research, vol. 54, no. D1, pp. D982-D993. https://doi.org/10.1093/nar/gkaf731
Bonvicini, L, Iorio, G, Ghirotto, L, Auzzi, N, Bardou, M, Buus Bøje, R, Kirkegaard, P, Mantellini, P & Giorgi Rossi, P 2026, 'The co-creation of a document to guide the use of self-sampling for human papillomavirus screening in Italy', Journal of Medical Screening. https://doi.org/10.1177/09691413261429385
Triebel, S, Brennecke, J & Weber, C 2026, 'The coevolution of board interlock networks and corporate strategic actions', Strategic Management Journal, vol. 47, no. 4, pp. 974-1008. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.70036