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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Musih, N, Trillò, T & Hallinan, B 2026, 'Resisting climate imaginaries: future compass memes as combinatory mechanisms for imagining otherwise', Information, Communication & Society, pp. 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2026.2616761

Manning, E, Chinnaiya, K, Furley, C, Kim, DW, Blackshaw, S, Placzek, M & Place, E 2026, 'Resolving forebrain developmental organisation by analysis of differential growth patterns', Nature Communications, vol. 17, no. 1, 901. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-67623-6

Kovac, H, Amstrup, AB, Käfer, H, Sørensen, JG & Stabentheiner, A 2026, 'Respiratory metabolism and energetics of Polistes paper wasp larvae and pupae from differing climates.', Insectes Sociaux, vol. 73, no. 1, pp. 145-156. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00040-025-01053-x

Eggertsen, CM, Dalbøge, A, Clausen, PA, Bønløkke, J , Kolstad, HA, Isaksson, M, Carstensen, O , Schlünssen, V & Christiansen, AG 2026, 'Respiratory symptoms among epoxy-exposed workers in the wind turbine industry: a cross-sectional study', Annals of Work Exposures and Health, vol. 70, no. 1, wxaf045. https://doi.org/10.1093/annweh/wxaf045

Nissen, U 2026, Responding to Hope: Challenge for Bonhoeffer’s Ethics in Times of Climate Crisis. in M Mawson & D Rayson (eds), Bonhoeffer and Contemporary Challenges: Crisis and Hope. Bloomsbury T&T Clark, T&T Clark New Studies in Bonhoeffer's Theology and Ethics, pp. 55-63, XIV International Bonhoeffer Congress (2024), Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 14/01/2024. https://doi.org/10.5040/9780567720566

Maeng, M , Thrane, PG, Erlinge, D, Maehara, A & Stone, GW 2026, 'Response by Maeng et al to Letters Regarding Article, "Nonculprit Vulnerable Plaques and Prognosis in Myocardial Infarction With Versus Without ST-Segment Elevation: A PROSPECT II Substudy"', Circulation, vol. 153, no. 3, pp. e17-e18. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.125.077511

Sairanen, A, Juutinen, E, Larsen, T , Vestergaard, M & Rinne, M 2026, 'Responses of Nordic Red and Holstein dairy cows to reduced concentrate feed input on a grass silage-based diet', Livestock Science, vol. 304, 105894. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.livsci.2026.105894

Du, S, Zhang, J, Tan, Y & Zhang, C 2026, 'Responses of upper-level frontogenesis in the middle latitudes to the Arctic stratospheric polar vortex during winter', Climate Dynamics, vol. 64, no. 3, 85. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-026-08069-4

Kyng, KJ, Møller, AH, Skajaa, T , Kerrn-Jespersen, S , Bennedsgaard, K , Rubak, S , Kaae, R & Henriksen, TB 2026, 'Response to Comment on 'Improved Paediatric Procedural Competence and Knowledge After Training Using a Newborn Piglet Model'', Acta Paediatrica, vol. 115, no. 1, pp. 251-252. https://doi.org/10.1111/apa.70346

Thomsen, MS & Offersen, BV 2026, 'Response to comment on “Quality assessment of 2705 treatment plans in the randomised Danish breast cancer Group Skagen trial 1”', Radiotherapy and Oncology, vol. 214, 111286. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.radonc.2025.111286

Fabricius, J 2026, 'Response to Effect of Oral Screen Training After Stroke: A Randomised Controlled Trial', Gerodontology. https://doi.org/10.1111/ger.70070

Rosenkrantz, O , Heide-Jørgensen, U & Cronin-Fenton, D 2026, 'Response to: "Impact of Rehabilitation in the Neurointensive Care Unit on Long-Term Survival in Patients With Traumatic Brain Injury"', Acta Anaesthesiologica Scandinavica, vol. 70, no. 4, e70223, pp. e70223. https://doi.org/10.1111/aas.70223

Kristensen, MT, Andersen, IT, Viberg, B & Pedersen, AB 2026, 'Response to letter to the editor', The Journals of Gerontology. Series A: Biological Sciences & Medical Sciences, vol. 81, no. 4, glag025. https://doi.org/10.1093/gerona/glag025

Staun Larsen, L 2026, 'Response to Letter to the Editor', European Journal of Oral Sciences, vol. 134, no. 2, e70067. https://doi.org/10.1111/eos.70067

Thorup, M 2026, 'Response to opponents', TEMP. Tidsskrift for historie, no. 31. <https://tidsskrift.dk/temp/article/view/162526>

Larsen, N , Buhl, J, Wolff, J, Pedersen, TK , Baad-Hansen, T & Nørholt, SE 2026, 'Response to the comment on “Robotic-controlled laser osteotome versus manually controlled osteotomy for interdental osteotomies: a cadaveric study”', International Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijom.2026.02.013

Yamborko, N, Schwab, L, Polerecky, L, Davoudpour, Y, Berthelot, H, Musat, N, Milferstedt, K, Hamelin, J, Richnow, HH, Vogt, C & Stryhanyuk, H 2026, 'Restoration of deuterium marker for multi-isotope mapping of cellular metabolic activity', Scientific Reports, vol. 16, no. 1, 883. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-33762-5

Wang, Y, Varga, G, Wang, M, Palmfeldt, J, Basu, S, Koppes, E, Jeffrey, A, Hannan, RJ, Sykuta, G & Vockley, J 2026, 'Restoration of Interaction Between Fatty Acid Oxidation and Electron Transport Chain Proteins In Vitro by Addition of Recombinant VLCAD', Biomedicines, vol. 14, no. 1, 222. https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines14010222

Glass, RG 2026, Restyling Many Ancestors: The Book of Tobit as Hellenistic Reception. in J Mortensen (ed.), Style and Computation. An Analogue and/or Algorithmic Approach to Analyses of Style in Ancient Greek Texts. Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht Verlage.

Hilgendorf, J, Lautrette-Quinveros, H, Chan, WS, Del Puerto, O, Ge, J, Noort, KJ, Ronanki, S, Loureiro, S, Spurgeon, D & Selck, H 2026, 'Rethinking chemical hazard: an AOP-guided approach to non-conventional endpoints in the environmental assessment of neurotoxic, immunotoxic and metabolic toxic compounds', Environmental Sciences Europe, vol. 38, no. 1, 12. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12302-025-01292-6

Smith, P & Tutenges, S 2026, Rethinking Collective Effervescence. in S Tutenges & P Smith (eds), Collective Effervescence. Temple University Press, Philadelphia, pp. 1-18.

Jacobsen, KL, Bruwer, C & Rasmussen, AM 2026, 'Rethinking Contemporary (Counter)Piracy: Lessons from the Western Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Guinea', Scandinavian Journal of Military Studies, vol. 9, no. 1, pp. 47-61. https://doi.org/10.31374/sjms.410

Liu, T, Davison, KE, Kershenbaum, AM, Weed, E, Gabrieli, JDE, Tager-Flusberg, H & Zuk, J 2026, 'Rethinking Prosody Production in Autism: Nuanced Insights From Individual Differences and Network Analysis Approaches', Journal of speech, language, and hearing research : JSLHR, vol. 69, no. 2, pp. 660-678. https://doi.org/10.1044/2025_JSLHR-24-00690

Wieser, C 2026, Rethinking teacher education with care ethics: Cultivating response-ability and sustainable professional identities in an age of attrition. in M Flores (ed.), Futures of Teacher Education. Routledge.

Bowman, R, Arazi, M, Cassoux, N, Foster, A, Gomel, N, Kapelushnik, N, MacLeod, D, Fabian, ID & Global Retinoblastoma Study Group 2026, 'Retinoblastoma outcomes in Europe: a prospective analysis of 483 patients from 40 countries', Eye, vol. 40, no. 3, pp. 390-398. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41433-025-04144-y

TRACERx Consortium & CAPTURE Consortium 2026, 'Retraction Note: Antibodies against endogenous retroviruses promote lung cancer immunotherapy', Nature, vol. 649, 1330. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-10104-7

Madsen, LHG 2026, Retsdogmatisk forskning 2026.

Evald, J 2026, Retsstaten: Begreb, historie og principper. vol. 1, 1 edn, Djøf Forlag, København.

Hong, C, Levers, C & Prishchepov, AV 2026, 'Revealing nested archetypes of cropland abandonment based on social-ecological system theory', Journal of Rural Studies, vol. 122, 103991. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2025.103991

Fischer, CM, Edu, IA, Šneideris, T, Baronaite, I, Toprakcioglu, Z, Deck, L-T, Qian, D, Scrutton, R, Dreyer, L, Wen, J, Otzen, DE, Wu, S, Perrett, S & Knowles, TPJ 2026, 'Reversibility and β-sheet formation are decoupled in tau condensate aging', Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, vol. 123, no. 11, e2522993123. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2522993123

Tølbøll, KB 2026, 'Review: Social media use and adolescent mental health – an umbrella review and power analysis', Child and Adolescent Mental Health. https://doi.org/10.1111/camh.70071

Dobusch, L, Plotnikof, M & Wenzel, M 2026, 'Reviewing is caring! Revaluing a critical, but invisibilized, underappreciated, and exploited academic practice', Organization and Environment, vol. 33, no. 3, pp. 458-474. https://doi.org/10.1177/13505084251343672

Kim, J, Kim, J, Sovacool, BK, Griffiths, S, Bazilian, M, Creutzig, F, Furszyfer Del Rio, DD, Agrawala, M, Choi, M & Debnath, R 2026, 'Reviewing the socio-technical dynamics of AI, data centers and digitalization on energy and the environment', Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. 234, 116861. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2026.116861

Sedgwick, M 2026, 'Review of Neo-Traditionalism in Islam in the West: Orthodoxy, Spirituality and Politics by Walaa Quisay', Journal of Muslims in Europe. https://doi.org/10.1163/22117954-bja10152

Kristensen, TM 2026, 'Review of S. Lenk, Roman Identity and Lived Religion. Baptismal Art in Late Antiquity, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press (Greek Culture in the Roman World), 2025', Antiquité Tardive.

Vestergaard Kristiansen, M 2026, 'Review of Stefano Micali, Phenomenology of Anxiety, Cham: Springer, 2022.', Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences, vol. 25, no. 1, pp. 191-196. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11097-023-09919-w

Rasmussen, MR , Koren, K & Kalinichev, A 2026, 'Revisiting camera-based calibration of oxygen optodes: Error sources, empirical alternatives, and practical guidelines for end-users', Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical, vol. 448, 139030. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.snb.2025.139030

Wisher, I, Meyering, LE & Oosterwijk, B 2026, 'Revisiting Creswell Crags: applying digital methods to reassess the northernmost examples of Upper Palaeolithic cave art', World Archaeology. https://doi.org/10.1080/00438243.2026.2628057