Research Interests

CV: Bente Finsen

Academic qualifications
1988 MD, Aarhus University. Authorization ID: 00BN8
1995 DMSci (Dr. Med.), Aarhus University

Appointments and positions
2021- Adjunct researcher, Center for Neurological Research, Institute for Regional Health Sciences, SDU, Slagelse Sygehus
2020- Adjunct lecturer, Department of Neuroscience, Copenhagen University
2009-12:  Senior Fellow, Freiburg Institute for Advanced Studies - School of Life Sciences -                LIFENET, Freiburg
2000- Professor, Neurobiology, Institute of Molecular Medicine (IMM), SDU
1998-99: Sabattical, Laboratory of Developmental Biology (Dr. Alan C. Peterson), Royal Victoria Hospital, McGill University, Montreal
1993: Assoc. prof., Anatomy & Cell Biology, IMB, Odense University
1988: Research fellow, Neurobiology, Institute of Anatomy, AaU
1987: Scholar, Department of Neurobiology, Aarhus University, Denmark
1985: Scholar, Department of Neurobiology, Aarhus University, Denmark 

Research areas
Neuroimmunology - Microglial protective and toxic functions - Alzheimer’s disease - Immune cell involvement in remyelination – Multiple sclerosis

Invited & keynote lectures - recent
2019: Innate Microglia in Alzheimer's Disease. CBBM Research Day, Center of Brain, Behavior and Metabolism, Universität zu Lübeck
2019: Innate Immunity and Serotoninergic Neurotransmission in Alzheimer’s Disease, Neuroseminar, Department of Neuroscience, Copenhagen University
2019: Proteomic Profiling of CNS Myeloid Cells and CNS Tissues from APP/PS1 Mice and Alzheimers Disease Cases. Immunology and Inflammation Conference, Berlin
2018: Proteomic Profiling of CNS Myeloid Cells and CNS Tissues from APP/PS1 Mice and Alzheimers Disease Cases, Cold Spring Harbor Asia Conference on Novel Insights into Glia Function & Dysfunction, Suzhou
2018:  Neuroinflammation, Serotonergic neurotransmission, and Alzheimer’s disease, Biological Sciences Seminars, University of Southampton

Awards & honours
2017: RoseLiv award for research in multiple sclerosis
2009: Savværksejer Jeppe Juhl og hustru Ovita Juhls mindelegat
2007: Torben Fogs og Erik Triers research award in multiple sclerosis
2006: Danish Alzheimer Society research award

Original articles – selected from the 10 past years (Out of 154 papers in PubMed)

1. Sivasaravanaparan M, Olesen LØ, Severino M, von Linstow CU, Lambertsen KL, Gramsbergen JB, Hasselstrøm J, Metaxas A, Wiborg O, Finsen B (2022) Efficacy of chronic paroxetine treatment in mitigating amyloid pathology and microgliosis in APP_SWE/PS1_DE9 transgenic mice. J Alzheimers Dis. 2022 Mar 21. 15 pp.
2. von Linstow CU, Waider J, Bergh MSS, Anzalone M, Madsen C, Nicolau AB, Wirenfeldt M, Lesch KP, Finsen B (2021) The combined effects of amyloidosis and serotonin deficiency by tryptophan hydroxylase-2 knockout impacts viability of the APP/PS1 mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease. J Alzheimers Dis. 85:1283-1300.
3. Thomsen BB, Madsen C, Krohn KT, Thygesen C, Schütt T, Metaxas M, Darvesh S, Agerholm JS, Wirenfeldt M, Berendt M*, Finsen B* (2021) Mild microglial responses in the cortex and perivascular macrophage infiltration in subcortical white matter in dogs with age-related dementia modelling prodromal Alzheimer’s disease. J Alzheimers Dis. 82:575-592. *Side-ordered authors
4. von Linstow CU, Hindkjær SM, Nielsen PV, Degn M, Lambertsen KL,Finsen B, Clausen BH (2021) Bone marrow-derived IL-1Ra increase TNF levels poststroke. Cells 10(4):956. 21 pp.
5. Mygind L, Bergh MS, Tejsi V, Vaitheeswaran R, Lambertsen KL,Finsen B*, Metaxas A* (2021) Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) is required for spatial learning and memory in male mice under physiological but not immune-challenged conditions. 2021 Mar 9;10(3):608.  18 pp. *Side-ordered authors
6. Clausen BH, Wirenfeldt M, Høgedal SS, Frich LH, Nielsen HH, Schrøder HD, Østergaard K, Finsen B, Kristensen BW, Lambertsen KL (2020) Characterization of the TNF and IL-1 systems in human brain and blood after ischemic stroke. Acta Neuropath Comm. 8: 81. 17 pp.
7. Metaxas A, Anzalone M, Vaitheeswaran R, Petersen S, Landau AM, Finsen B (2019) Neuroinflammation and amyloid-beta 40 are associated with reduced serotonin transporter (SERT) activity in a transgenic model of familial Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimers Res Ther. 11:38. 13 pp.
8. Metaxas A, Thygesen C, Briting SRR, Landau AM, Darvesh S, Finsen B (2019) Increased inflammation and unchanged density of synaptic vesicle glycoprotein 2A (SV2A) in the postmortem frontal cortex of Alzheimer’s disease patients. Front Cell Neurosci. 13:538. 8 pp.
9. Metaxas A, Thygesen C, Kempf SJ, Anzalone M, Vaitheeswaran R, Petersen S, Landau AM, Audrain H, Teeling JL, Darvesh S, Brooks D, Larsen MR, Finsen B (2019) Amyloidosis and aging are sufficient for the development of tau pathology in murine models of familial Alzheimer’s disease. Sci Rep. 9:15758. 15 pp.
10. Myhre CL, Thygesen C, Villadsen B, Vollerup J, Ilkjær L, Krohn KT, Grebing M, Zhao S, Khan AM, Dissing-Olesen L, Jensen MS, Babcock AA, Finsen B (2019) Microglia express insulin-like growth factor-1 in the hippocampus of aged APP_swe/PS1_dE9 transgenic mice. Front Cell Neurosci. 13:308. 17 pp.
11. Krøigaard T, Metaxas A, Wirenfeldt M, Finsen B (2019) Protective effect of ibuprofen in a rat model of chronic oxaliplatin-induced peripheral neuropathy. Exp Brain Res. 237:2645-2651.
12. Metaxas A, Anzalone M, Vaitheeswaran R, Petersen S, Landau AM, Finsen B (2019) Neuroinflammation and amyloid-beta 40 are associated with reduced serotonin transporter (SERT) activity in a transgenic model of familial Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimers Res Ther. 11:38. 13 pp.
13. Anderson C, Falsig J, Stavenhagen J, Christensen S, Kartberg F, Rosenqvist N, Finsen B, Pedersen J (2019) Antibody-mediated clearance of tau in primary mouse microglial cultures requires Fcγ-receptor binding and functional lysosomes. Sci Rep 9;1:4658. 12 pp.
14. Karjanmaa M, Larsen KS, Fenger CD, Kristensen LK, Martin NA, Jensen PT, Breton A, Nathanson L, Nielsen PV, Lund MC, Carlsen SL, Gramsbergen JB, Finsen B, Stubbe J, Frich LH, Stolp H, Brambilla R, Anthony DC, Meyer M, Lambertsen KL (2019) TNF deficiency causes alterations in the spatial organization of neurogenic zones and alters the number of microglia and neurons in the cerebral cortex. Brain Behav Immun. 82:279-297.
15. Thygesen C, Ilkjær C, Kempf SJ, Hemdrup AL, von Linstow CU, Babcock AA, Darvesh S, Larsen MR, Finsen B (2018) Diverse protein profiles in CNS myeloid cells and CNS tissue from lipopolysaccharide- and vehicle-injected APP_SWE/PS1_ΔE9 transgenic mice implicate cathepsin Z in Alzheimer’s disease. Front Cell Neurosci. 6;12:397. 22 pp.
16. Thygesen C, Metaxas A, Larsen KR, Finsen B (2018) Age-dependent changes in the sarkosyl-insoluble proteome of APPSWE/PS1DE9 transgenic mice implicate dysfunctional mitochondria in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease. J Alzheimers Dis. 64:1247-1259.
17. Severino M*, Sivasaravanaparan M*, Olesen LØ, MS, von Linstow CU, Metaxas A, Bouzinova EV, Khan AM, Lambertsen KL, Babcock AA, Gramsbergen JB^#, Wiborg O^#, Finsen B^# (2018) Established amyloid-beta pathology is unaffected by chronic treatment with the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor paroxetine. Alzheimers Dement (N Y) 4:215-223. 
18. Metaxas A, Vaitheeswaran R, Jensen KT, Darvesh S, Finsen B (2018) Reduced serotonin transporter levels and inflammation in the midbrain raphe of APP/PS1 mice, without local deposition of plaques or tangles. Curr Alzheimer Dis. 5:420-428.
19. Von Linstow CU, Waider J, Grebing M, Metaxas A, Lesch KP, Finsen B (2017) Serotonin augmentation therapy by escitalopram has minimal effects on amyloid-β levels in early-stage Alzheimer's-like disease in mice. Alzheimers Res Ther. 12;9:74. 12 pp.
20. Jensen P, Myhre CL, Lassen P, Metaxas A, Khan AM, Lambertsen KL, Babcock AA, Finsen B^#, Larsen MR^#, Kempf SJ (2017) TNFα affects CREB-mediated neuroprotective signaling pathways of synaptic plasticity in neurons as revealed by proteomics and phospho-proteomics. Oncotarget 8:60223-60242. ^#Side-ordered authors. 20 pp.
21. Grønhøj MH, Clausen BH, Fenger C, Lambertsen KL, Finsen B (2017) Beneficial potential of intravenously administered IL-6 in improving outcome after murine experimental stroke. Brain Beh Immun. 65:296-311. 16 pp.
22. Von Linstow CU, Severino M, Metaxas A, Waider J, Lesch KP, Gramsbergen JB, Finsen B (2017) Effect of ageing and Alzheimer’s disease-like pathology on brain monoamines in mice. Neurochem Int. 108:238-245.
23. Olesen LØ, Sivasaravanaparan M, Severino M, Babcock AA, Bouzinova EV, West MJ, Wiborg O^*, Finsen B^* (2017) Neuron number and neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus of aged APPswe/PS1dE9 transgenic mice: Effect of long-term treatment with paroxetine. Neurobiol Aging 104:50-60. ^#Side-ordered authors.
24. Clausen BH, Lambertsen KL, Dagnæs-Hansen F, Babcock AA, von Linstow CU, Meldgaard M, Kristensen BW, Deierborg T, Finsen B (2016) Cell therapy centered on IL-1Ra is neuroprotective in experimental stroke. Acta Neuropathol. 131:775-791.
25. Grebing MM, Nielsen HH, Fenger CD, Jensen KT, von Linstow CU, Clausen BH, Söderman M, Lambertsen KL, Thomassen M, Kruse TA, Finsen B (2016) Myelin specific T cells induce interleukin-1beta expression in activated microglia in zones of axonal degeneration. Glia 64:407-424.
26. Dionne N, Dib S, Finsen B, Denarier E, Kuhlmann T, Drouin R, Kokoeva M, Hudson TJ, Kathy Siminovitch K, Friedman HC, Peterson AC (2016) Functional organization of an mbp enhancer exposes striking transcriptional regulatory diversity within myelinating glia. Glia 64:175-194.
27. Khan AM, Babcock AA, Saeed H, Myhre CL, Kassem K, Finsen B (2015) Telomere dysfunction reduces microglial numbers without fully inducing an aging phenotype. Neurobiol Aging 36:2164-2175.
28. Babcock AA, Ilkjær L, Clausen BH, Villadsen B, Dissing-Olesen L, Bendixen ATM, Lyck L, Lambertsen KL, Finsen B (2015) Cytokine-producing microglia have an altered beta-amyloid load in aged APP/PS1 Tg mice. Brain Beh Immun. 48:86-101.
29. Baron R, Babcock AA, Nemirovsky A, Finsen B, Monsonego A (2014) Accelerated microglial pathology is associated with Aβ plaques in mouse models of Alzheimer's disease. Aging Cell 13:584-595.
30. Hansen TB, Jensen TI, Clausen BH, Bramsen JB, Finsen B, Damgaard CK, Kjems J (2013) Natural RNA circles function as efficient microRNA sponges. Nature 495:384-388.

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