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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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Thodberg, K, Gebreyesus, G & Foldager, L 2026, Måling af halelængde hos grise med kuperede haler i deres vækstperiode. Rådgivningsnotat fra DCA - Nationalt Center for Fødevarer og Jordbrug, DCA - Nationalt Center for Fødevarer og Jordbrug.
Conradsen, AR & Thodsen, H 2026, MÅLING AF NÆRINGSSTOFFER FRA LAND – TASK 1.1: Målingskvalitet - rapport til Kystvandråd Rødsand og Bredningen. Teknisk rapport fra DCE - Nationalt Center for Miljø og Energi, no. 373, Aarhus University, DCE - Danish Centre for Environment and Energy.
Thomsen, PT 2026, 'Malkning hurtigt efter kælvning giver bedre råmælk', Bovi : Til fremtidens mælkeproducent, vol. januar 2026, pp. 10.
Grimsgaard, I, Henriksen, EH, Nielsen, BU, Faurholt-Jepsen, D, Jeppesen, M, Almdal, T & Søndergaard, E 2026, 'Management of Cystic Fibrosis-Related Diabetes in Denmark: A Population-Based, Cross-Sectional Study', Pediatric Pulmonology, vol. 61, no. 2, e71533. https://doi.org/10.1002/ppul.71533
Motevalli, A, Moradi, HR, Hashemi, H, Javadi, S & Bernthsson, R 2026, 'Managing coastal aquifer salinity risks: Strategies for balance, recharge, and crop adaptation', Journal of Contaminant Hydrology, vol. 276, 104776, pp. 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jconhyd.2025.104776
Bregnballe, T, Sterup, J, Herrmann, C & Lundström, K 2026, 'Managing Great Cormorant colonies in the Baltic Sea region: Actions taken and lessons learned', 11th International Conference on Cormorants, Prague, Czech Republic, 03/02/2026 - 06/02/2026.
Iversen, S, Nikolaj Madsen, D & Skovbo Moser, K 2026, 'Manifestets transformationer: Introduktion til særnummer', Rhetorica Scandinavica, pp. 10.
Sánchez-Rodríguez, Á, Melita, D, Román-Caballero, R, Jetten, J, Willis, GB, de-León-de-León, S, Matamoros-Lima, J, Schwartz-Salazar, S, Sainz, M, Velandia-Morales, A, García-Castro, JD, García-Sánchez, E, Martínez, R, Wang, Z, Moreno-Bella, E, Tejero-Peregrina, L, Del Fresno-Díaz, Á, Montoya-Lozano, M, Soler-Martínez, FM, Moya, M & Rodríguez-Bailón, R 2026, 'Manipulations of perceived economic inequality: A systematic review and meta-analysis', Journal of experimental psychology. General, vol. 155, no. 2, pp. 365-387. https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0001837
Lundgren, E, Svenning, JC, Schlaepfer, MA, Wallach, A, Andersson, A, Marris, E, Rohwer, Y & Ramp, D 2026, 'Many pasts, many futures: Navigating the complexities of species reshuffling to help prevent extinctions', Cambridge Prisms: Extinction, vol. 4, e2. https://doi.org/10.1017/ext.2025.10010
Dam Christensen, H, Gjedde, L, Larsen, AH, Mortensen, CH, Jensen, JF, Sørensen, AS & Knudsen, LV 2026, 'Mapping Culture and Sustainability. A Critical Approach to an Abundance of Meanings', Nordisk Museologi/The Journal Nordic Museology , vol. 2025, no. 2, pp. 44-59. https://doi.org/10.5617/nm.13183
Ali, AKM, Fjaellegaard, K, Laursen, CB, Skaarup, SH, Armbruster, K, Bødtger, U & Danish Respiratory Society pleural interest group 2026, 'Mapping heterogeneity in the management of malignant pleural effusions with indwelling pleural catheters in Denmark - a national survey', European Clinical Respiratory Journal, vol. 13, no. 1, 2589551. https://doi.org/10.1080/20018525.2025.2589551
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Tourette Syndrome Working Group of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Working Group of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium, Schizophrenia Working Group of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium, Substance Use Disorders Working Group of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium, Anxiety Disorders Working Group of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium, Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Working Group of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium, Autism Spectrum Disorders Working Group of The Psychiatric Genomics Consortium, Bipolar Disorder Working Group of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium, Eating Disorders Working Group of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium, Major Depressive Disorder Working Group of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium, Nicotine Dependence GenOmics (iNDiGO) Consortium, Brikell, I, Grove, J, Sonuga-Barke, E, Hübel, C, Larsen, JT & Petersen, LV 2026, 'Mapping the genetic landscape across 14 psychiatric disorders', Nature, vol. 649, no. 8096, pp. 406-415. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09820-3
Schneider, FD, Dean, M, Ordway, EM, Libalah, MB & Ferraz, A 2026, 'Mapping the structural diversity of Central African and Western US forests using GEDI', Remote Sensing of Environment, vol. 334, 115215. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2025.115215
Thoral, F, Pinkerton, MH, Montie, S, Thomsen, MS, Battershill, CN, Filbee-Dexter, K, Gall, M, Miller, RJ, Orchard, S, Reed, DC, Tait, LW, Virgin, SDS, Wernberg, T, Zeldis, J & Schiel, DR 2026, 'Marine darkwave as an event-based framework to assess unusual periods of reduced underwater light availability', Communications Earth and Environment, vol. 7, no. 1, 4. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-03023-4
Berndsen, M 2026, 'Marmorstelen i Grøndalskirken', Periskop, no. 36.
Olsen, A-ME 2026, 'Marx og Aristoteles', Aigis: nordisk tidsskrift for klassiske studier, vol. 2026, no. 1.
Cai, YZ, Pastorello, A, Maeda, K, Zhao, JW, Wang, Z, Peng, ZH, Reguitti, A, Tartaglia, L, Filippenko, AV, Pan, Y, Valerin, G, Kumar, B, Wang, Z, Fraser, M, Anderson, JP, Benetti, S, Bose, S, Brink, TG, Cappellaro, E, Chen, TW, Chen, XL, Elias-Rosa, N, Esamdin, A, Gal-Yam, A, González-Bañuelos, M, Gromadzki, M, Gutiérrez, CP, Inserra, C, Iskandar, A, Kangas, T, Kankare, E, Kravtsov, T, Kuncarayakti, H, Li, LP, Liu, CX, Liu, XW, Lundqvist, P, Matilainen, K, Mattila, S, Moran, S, Müller-Bravo, TE, Nagao, T, Petrushevska, T, Pignata, G, Salmaso, I, Smartt, SJ, Sollerman, J, Srivastav, S, Stritzinger, MD, Wang, LT, Yan, SY, Yang, Y, Yang, Y, Zheng, W, Zou, XZ, Chen, LY, Du, XL, Fang, QL, Fiore, A, Ragosta, F, Zha, S, Zhang, JJ, Liu, XW, Bai, JM, Wang, B & Wang, XF 2026, 'Massive stars exploding in a He-rich circumstellar medium: XII. SN 2024acyl: A fast, linearly declining Type Ibn supernova with early flash-ionisation features', Astronomy and Astrophysics, vol. 707, A157. https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202558014
Lindenskov, LB, Weng, P, Tonnesen, PB & Overgaard, S 2026, Matematikvanskeligheder på de ældste klassetrin: kortlægning og undervisning. 2 edn, Dansk Psykologisk Forlag, Danmark.
Kravtsova, O, Tan, Y, Levchenko, V, Kovalenko, E, Tiwari, R, Zietara, A, Bohovyk, R, Dissanayake, LV, Van, TT, Sharp, TE, Geurts, AM, Palygin, O, Rinschen, MM & Staruschenko, A 2026, 'MCD enzyme deficiency drives early mortality and multiorgan metabolic disruption in Dahl salt-sensitive rats', iScience, vol. 29, no. 1, 114505. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2025.114505
Jacobsen, CB, Baviskar, S, Frederiksen, AB, Schrøder, I, Hildeshejn, CM & Danneskiold-Samsøe, S 2026, 'Me and my foster family: assessing the feasibility of a flexible intervention', Children and Youth Services Review, vol. 181, 108649. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2025.108649
Pelouto, F, Papri, N, Haagsma, JA, Cornblath, DR, Nobile-Orazio, E, Wiegers, EJA, Harbo, T, Rajabally, YA, van Doorn, PA, Gorson, KC, Terwee, CB, Jacobs, BC, Horton, MC & IGOS Consortium 2026, 'Measurement properties of the Inflammatory Rasch-built Overall Disability Scale (I-RODS) in patients with Guillain-Barré syndrome', Journal of Neurology, vol. 273, no. 2, 164. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00415-026-13684-6
Michez, D, Boustani, M, Sentil, A, Benrezkallah, J, de Manincor, N, Wood, TJ, Fidalgo, PA, Aubert, M, Bellotto, V, Biella, P, Bogusch, P, Bosch, J, Brau, T, Browne, K, Carion, F, Castro, L, Cederberg, B, Clay, J, Debont, T, Dubaic, JB, Dall'Olio, R, Dellicour, S, Devalez, J, Devorsine, R, Dufrêne, E, De la Rua, P, De Tandt, B, Evrard, D, Flaminio, S, Fiordaliso, W, Fontana, P, Gadoum, S, Casals, MG, Gaspar, H, Gekière, A, Gérard, M, Geslin, B, Kasparek, M, Kierat, J, Kohl, PL, Kuhlmann, M, Kryger, P, Lerclercq, N, Le Divelec, R, Lemaire, S, Lescot, S, Lhomme, P, Litman, J, Marshall, L, McCormack, GP, Moro, A, Stojnic, SM, Ockermueller, E, Oleksa, A, Ortiz-Sanchez, FJ, Patiny, S, Paukkunen, J, Perrard, A, Petanidou, T, Pinto, MA, Potts, SG, Praz, C, Put, SCL, Radchenko, VG, Rasmont, P, Requier, F, Reverté, S, Risch, S, Rogenstein, S, Rosa, P, Ruiz, C, Rutschmann, B, Santerre, R, Smit, J, Straka, J, Thulier, J, Tourbez, C, Trottet, A, Vereecken, NJ, Williams, PH, Winter, E, Zimmermann, D & Ghisbain, G 2026, Measuring the pulse of European biodiversity using the Red List: European Red List of Bees. European Commission, Brussels, Belgium. https://doi.org/10.2779/521877
Buchanan, EM, Cuccolo, K, Heyman, T, van Berkel, N, Coles, NA, Iyer, A, Peters, K, van ’t Veer, AE, Montefinese, M, Maxwell, NP, Taylor, JE, Valentine, KD, Arriaga, P, Barzykowski, K, Boucher, L, Collins, WM, Vaidis, DC, Aczel, B, Al-Hoorie, AH, Ambrosini, E, Besson, T, Burin, DI, Butt, MM, Clarke, AJB, Daryani, Y, El-Dakhs, DAS, Elsherif, MM, Fernández-López, M, Ferreira, PRDS, Freitag, RMK, Gattei, CA, Godbersen, H, Grim, PA, Halama, P, Havan, P, Irrazabal, NC, Isloi, C, Iversen, RK, Julliard, Y, Karaaslan, A, Kohút, M, Kohútová, V, Kos, J, Kosachenko, AI, Lima, TJSD, Mak, MHC, Manouilidou, C, Marciaga, LA, Melinna, XM, Miranda, JF, Morvinski, C, Muppoor, A, Müjdeci, FE, Nielsen, YA, Oliveros, JC, Onič, J, Papadatou-Pastou, M, Patel, I, Pavlović, Z, Pažon, B, Pfuhl, G, Pronizius, E, Roettger, TB, Ronderos, CR, Ruiz-Fernandez, S, Senderecka, M, Solak, Ç, Stückler, A, Szekely-Copîndean, RD, Taboh, AR, Thériault, R, Tran, US, Trecca, F, Ulloa, JL, Varga, MA, Verheyen, S, Vesić Pavlović, T, Viviani, G, Wang, N, Zivna, K, Yun, CC, Clark, OJ, Acar, OA, Adamkovič, M, Agnoletti, G, Akil, AM, Alsuhaibani, Z, Amenta, S, Ananyeva, OA, Andreychik, M, Angele, B, Arias Quiñones, DC, Arinze, NC, Askelund, AD, Baker, BJ, Baskin, E, Batalha, L, Batres, C, Beato, MS, Becker, M, Becker, M, Behnke, M, Blaison, C, Borghi, AM, Brandstätter, E, Buczny, J, Budak, N, Cabana, Á, Cai, ZG, Canessa, EC, Cavdan, M, Cecchetti, L, Chaigneau, SE, Chang, FXW, Chartier, CR, Chen, SC, Cherniaeva, E, Christiansen, MH, Chuan-Peng, H, Chwiłkowska, P, Comesaña, M, Cong, CW, Cowan, C, Dandeneau, SD, David, OA, Davis, WE, Demirag Burak, EG, Dixson, BJW, Du, H, Duclos, R, Duyck, W, Efimova, LA, Egan, C, Era, V, Evans, TR, Exner, A, Feldman, G, Fellnhofer, K, Fini, C, Fisher, SE, Flowe, HD, Garrido-Vásquez, P, Gatti, D, Geller, J, Giannouli, V, Gorokhova, AS, Griener, LM, Grigoryev, D, Grossmann, I, Ghasemi, H, Handjaras, G, Hauspie, C, He, Z, Heilman, RM, Heydari, A, Hine, AM, Hoyer, K, Hryniszak, W, Hsiao, JHW, Huang, G, Ihaya, K, Ilczuk, E, Ishii, T, Dumbravă, A, Jankowiak, K, Jiang, X, Johnson, DC, Jończyk, R, Järvikivi, J, Kaczer, L, Kamermans, KL, Karl, JA, Karner, A, Kačmár, P, Keech, JJ, Kim, MJ, Korbmacher, M, Kostorz, K, Kowal, M, Kratochvil, T, Kunisato, Y, Kuzminska, AO, Körtvélyessy, L, Köse, FE, Köster, M, Kękuś, M, Labusch, M, Lamm, C, Lau, CM, Laurino, J, Law, W, Lettieri, G, Levitan, CA, Lu, JG, MacPherson, SE, Malinakova, K, Manriquez-Robles, D, Marchant, N, Marelli, M, Martínez, M, Matthews, MF, Mattiassi, ADA, Mattoli-Sánchez, J, Mazzuca, C, McGovern, DP, Meier, Z, Melinscak, F, Misiak, M, Monteiro, LCP, Moreau, D, Moreno, S, Mulgrew, KE, Muller, D, Nagy, T, Naranowicz, M, Ndukaihe, ILG, Neta, M, Novak, L, Ogbonnaya, CE, Paek, JJW, Paltoglou, AE, Parada, FJ, Parker, AJ, Paruzel-Czachura, M, Pavlov, YG, Paydarfard, S, Pegler, D, Peker, M, Perea, M, Pfattheicher, S, Protzko, J, Prusova, IS, Pypno-Blajda, K, Qiu, Z, Reips, UD, Ribeiro, G, Rinaldi, L, Roberts, SC, Roembke, TC, Romanova, MO, Ross, RM, Röer, JP, Rızaoğlu, F, Saari, TT, Sampaolo, E, Santos, AC, Sarıçiçek, FÇ, Sasaki, K, Scharnowski, F, Schmidt, K, Sepehri, A, Serçe, HO, Sevincer, AT, Siew, CSQ, Simonetti, ME, Sirota, M, Sorokowska, A, Sorokowski, P, Stephen, ID, Stevens, LM, Stewart, SLK, Steyrl, D, Stieger, S, Studzinska, A, Suarez, M, Szala, A, Szmalec, A, Sznycer, D, Szumowska, E, Söylemez, S, Söylemez, B, Takashima, K, Tamnes, CK, Tan, JCR, Tang, C, Tavel, P, Tejada, J, Thompson, BC, Tiernan, JG, Torres-Muñoz, V, Touloumakos, AK, Trémolière, B, Tschense, M, Türkan, BN, Vadillo, MA, Vannucci, C, Varnum, MEW, Vasilev, MR, Vaughn, LA, Verkampt, F, Villar, LM, Wallot, S, Wang, L, Wang, K, Williams, GP, Willinger, D, Wolfe, K, Wormley, AS, Yamada, Y, Yang, Y, Zhou, Y, Zhang, M, Zheng, W, Zheng, Y, Zhou, C, Zidkova, R, Zumbrunn, NM, Çoker, O, Çoksan, S, Öner, S, Özdoğru, AA, Şahin, SM, Kasanov, D, Arvanitis, A, Brick, C, Colloff, MF, Gallyamova, A, Koch, C, Ropovik, I, Zhang, Y, Zhou, X, Patel, S, Suchow, JW & Lewis, SC 2026, 'Measuring the semantic priming effect across many languages', Nature Human Behaviour, vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 182-201. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-025-02254-x
Schousboe, LAG, Nygaard, JV & Skov, SN 2026, 'Mechanical tissue changes caused by liquid jet blasting of the aortic cannula', Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part H: Journal of Engineering in Medicine, vol. 240, no. 2, pp. 164-170. https://doi.org/10.1177/09544119251414214
Richter-Dennerlein, R, Dopico, XC & Rorbach, J 2026, 'Mechanisms and disease relevance of mitochondrial translation in humans', Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41580-026-00948-2