Jannik Hjortshøj Larsen - Postdoctoral Fellowship 2025
Project summary:
Smooth Muscle Cell Phenotype Switching in Atherosclerosis: Impact on Extracellular Vesicles
Can extracellular vesicles (EVs) from vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) serve as markers of SMC phenotypic state in atherosclerosis? The majority of cells in the atherosclerotic plaque are of VSMC origin, and the balance of VSMC phenotypes within plaques are important for disease development. Since EVs carry RNA and protein cargo mirroring their cell of origin, they may offer insights into VSMC phenotype. We hypothesize that these changes alter EV cargo in a detectable way—making EV analysis a potential tool to assess VSMC phenotypic make-up of plaques and thereby assess plaque severity.
Project Title
Smooth Muscle Cell Phenotype Switching in Atherosclerosis: Impact on Extracellular Vesicles
Background
Phenotypic modulation of VSMCs is a hallmark of atherosclerosis. VSMC-derived EVs may offer insights, but their low abundance in EV plasma pool makes analysis difficult. Novel strategies are needed to isolate and study these EVs effectively.
Aim
This project aims to explore the link between VSMC phenotypes and their EVs cargo during health and atherosclerosis.
Methods
I have developed a novel tool to capture cell type–specific EVs in vitro and in vivo, with the added ability to chemically label their surface proteins. This enables comparison of EV surface markers and cargo and has translational potential for applying the technique for human plasma samples.
Other information
This postdoctoral project is an international collaboration between the Steffensen and Svenningsen groups at SDU and the Jørgensen group at the University of Cambridge.
Jannik Hjortshøj Larsen
- MSc and PhD
- University of Southern Denmark, Department of Molecular Medicine
Main supervisor:
Lasse Bach Steffensen, Associate Professor, Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
Co-supervisors:
Helle F. Jørgensen, Associate Professor, Department of Medicine, Cambridge University, Cambridge, United Kingdom
Professor Per Svenningsen, Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
Professor Lars Melholt Rasmussen, Clinical Biochemistry and Pharmacology, Odense University Hospital, Odense, Denmark