Henrietta Nielsen Senior lecturer

Contact

Name and title: Henrietta NielsenSenior lecturer

Mail: henrietta.nielsen@dbb.su.se

Phone: +468161886

ORCID0000-0001-9664-7068 Länk till annan webbplats.

Workplace: Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics Länk till annan webbplats.

Visiting address Room M436Svante Arrhenius väg 16

Postal address Institutionen för biokemi och biofysik106 91 Stockholm

Research group

Links

About me

Henrietta M Nielsen, PhD
Associate professor of neurochemistry and molecular neurobiology

PRESENT POSITIONS

2019 - present. Tenured Associate professor (universitetslektor) in neurochemistry and
molecular neurobiology. Stockholm University, Department of Biochemistry
and Biophysics

2021 - present. President, International Society of Molecular Neurodegeneration (ISMND)
Jacksonville, FL, USA

EDUCATION

2000-2003. BSc, biomedical laboratory technology (licensed/leg BMA)
Lund University, Lund, Sweden

2003-2004. MSc, biomedicine
Kalmar University, Kalmar, Sweden

2004-2007. PhD, medicine
Lund University, Malmö, Sweden

PREVIOUS ACADEMIC POSITIONS

2008-2009- VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Departments of Clinical Chemistry and Neuropathology
Postdoctoral fellow

2009-2012. Lund University, Malmö, Sweden
Department of Clinical Sciences Malmö, Molecular Memory Research Unit
Postdoc and assistant scientist

2012-2015. Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Jacksonville FL, USA
Department of Neuroscience
Research Associate/Instructor of Neuroscience/ Assistant Professor of Neuroscience

2015-2019. Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
Department of Neurochemistry/Biochemistry and Biophysics
Assistant professor of neurochemistry (tenure-track)

ACADEMIC ADMINISTRATIVE RESPONSIBILITIES

Institutional committee and board memberships

2009-2010. Lund University, Lund, Sweden
Steering committee and founding member of Lund University Postdoctoral Society (LPS)

2018-2020. Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
SU Experimental Core Facility Steering committee member

2018-2023. Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics . Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
Board Member

2022-2023. Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
The Science Faculty Academic Appointment Committee Alternate Member

Academic reviewer work

Ad-hoc reviewer appointments;
Annals of Anatomy, Current Alzheimer Research, GLIA, Neuroscience, Molecular Neurodegeneration, Biomarkers in Medicine, Molecular Autism, Acta Neuropathologica, Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, Neurobiology of disease, Neurology, PloS One, Journal of Neurology, Neurobiology of Aging, Journal of Alzheimer’s disease, Annals of Neurology, Aging Cell, Acta Neuropathologica Communications, Journal of Neuroscience, Translational Neurodegeneration, Biological Psychiatry etc

Editorial board membership;
2012-2022. Associate editor, Journal of Alzheimer’s disease
2012-present. Senior editor, Molecular Neurodegeneration
2018-2020. Academic editor, Plos One
2020-present. Editorial board member, Aging Brain
2025-present. Senior editor, Molecular Neurodegeneration Advances

Grant review;
2013. AFI (ALZHEIMER FORSCHUNG INITIATIVE e. V. Germany).
2014, 2023. ZonMw - The Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development
2014, 2018. Alzheimer's Research UK
2015. Alzheimer’s Society UK
2016-2025. Alzheimer’s Association, USA
2020-2023. Alzheimer’s Association International Research Grant Program (IRGP) Council
2023. Israel Science Foundation
2025. Swiss National Science Foundation, Switzerland

Conference organization
-3rd International Conference on Molecular Neurodegeneration (ICMN2013) 2013
Cannes, France, September 10-12
-ICMN2016, Seoul, Korea, May 9-11 2016
-ICMN2018 (local organizer and host), Stockholm, Sweden, June 11-13 2018
-ISMND 2022, Athens, Greece, October 10-12 2022
-ISMND 2024, Seoul, South Korea, May 27-29 2023-2024
-ISMND 2026, Hong Kong, China, October 20-23 2025-2026
-ADPD2024, Lisbon, Portugal, March 5-9 2023-2024
-ADPD2025, Vienna, Austria, April 1-5 2024-2025
-ADPD2026, Copenhagen, Denmark 2025-2026

Publications
Original research articles

Almeida FC, Patra K, Giannisis A, Niesnerova A, Nandakumar R, Ellis E, Oliveira TG, Nielsen HM. APOE genotype dictates lipidomic signatures in primary human hepatocytes. Journal of Lipid Research. 2024 Jan 11;65(2):100498. doi: 10.1016/j.jlr.2024.100498.
Giannisis A, Al-Grety A, Carlsson H, Howell JC, Hu WT, Kultima K, Nielsen HM. Plasma apolipoprotein E levels, isoform composition, and dimer profile in relation to plasma lipids in racially diverse patients with Alzheimer's disease and mild cognitive impairment. Alzheimers Research & Therapy. 2023 Jul 3;15(1):119. doi: 10.1186/s13195-023-01262-1.
Kessler K, Giannisis A, Bial G, Foquet L, Nielsen HM*, Raber J*. Behavioral and cognitive performance of humanized APOEε3/ε3 liver mice in relation to plasma apolipoprotein E levels. Scientific Reports. 2023 Jan 31;13(1):1728
Giannisis A, Al-Grety A, Carlsson H, Patra K, Twohig D, Sando SB, Lauridsen C, Berge G, Grøntvedt GR, Bråthen G, White LR, Kultima K, Nielsen HM. Plasma apolipoprotein E levels in longitudinally followed patients with mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimers Research & Therapy. 2022 Aug 24;14(1):115.
Giannisis A, Patra K, Edlund AK, Agirrezabala Nieto L, Benedicto-Gras J, Moussaud S, Dela Rosa A, Twohig D, Bengtsson T, Fu Y, Bu G, Bial G, Foquet L, Hammarstedt C, Strom S, Kannisto K, Raber J, Ellis E, Nielsen HM. Brain integrity is altered by hepatic APOEε4 in humanized-liver mice. Molecular Psychiatry. 2022 Aug;27(8):3533-3543.
Edlund AK, Chen K, Lee W, Protas H, Su Y, Reiman E, Caselli R, Nielsen HM. Plasma Apolipoprotein E3 and Glucose Levels Are Associated in APOE ɛ3/ɛ4 Carriers. Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease. 2021;81(1):339-354
Patra K, Giannisis A, Edlunda AK, Sando SB, Lauridsen C, Berge G, Grøntvedt GR, Bråthen G, White LR, Nielsen HM. Plasma apolipoprotein E monomer and dimer profile and relevance to Alzheimer’s disease. Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease. 2019;71(4):1217-1231.
Twohig D, Rodriguez-Vieitez, E, Sando, SB, Berge, G, Lauridsen, C, Møller, I, Grøntvedt, GR, Bråthen, G, Patra, K, Bu, G, Benzinger, TLS, Karch, CM, Fagan, A, Morris, JC, Bateman, RJ, Nordberg, A, White, LR, Nielsen, HM. The relevance of cerebrospinal fluid alpha-synuclein levels to sporadic and familial Alzheimer's disease. Acta Neuropathologica Communications. 2018;6(130):1-19.
Patra K, Soosaipillai A, Sando SB, Lauridsen C, Berge G, Møller I, Grøntvedt GR, Bråthen G, Begcevic I, Moussaud S, Minthon L, Hansson O, Diamandis EP, White LR, Nielsen HM. Assessment of kallikrein 6 as a cross-sectional and longitudinal biomarker for Alzheimer's disease. 2018. Alzheimers Research & Therapy Jan 29;10(1):9
Schultz N, Brännström K, Byman E, Moussaud S, Nielsen HM, the Netherlands Brain Bank, Olofsson A, Wennström M. Amyloid-beta 1-40 is associated with alterations in NG2+ pericyte population ex vivo and in vitro. 2018. Aging Cell Jun;17(3):e12728
Ogaki K, Martens YA, Heckman MG, Koga S, Walton RL, Soto-Ortolaza AI, Vargas E, Nielsen HM, Fujioka S, Uitti RJ, Kanekiyo T, Wszolek ZK, Low PA, Singer W, Dickson DW, Bu G, Ross OA. Multiple system atrophy and apolipoprotein E. 2018. Movement Disorders Apr;33(4):647-650
Nielsen HM, Chen K, Lee W, Chen Y, Bauer RJ, 3rd, Reiman E, Caselli R, Bu G. Peripheral apoE isoform levels in cognitively normal APOE epsilon3/epsilon4 individuals are associated with regional gray matter volume and cerebral glucose metabolism. Alzheimer's research & therapy. 2017 January 30;9(1):5
Fu Y, Zhao J, Atagi Y, Nielsen HM, Liu CC, Zheng H, Shinohara M, Kanekiyo T, Bu G. Apolipoprotein E lipoprotein particles inhibit amyloid-β uptake through cell surface heparan sulphate proteoglycan. Molecular Neurodegeneration. 2016 May 5;11(1):37.
Wennström M, Surova Y, Hall S, Nilsson C, Minthon L, Hansson O, Nielsen HM. The Inflammatory Marker YKL-40 Is Elevated in Cerebrospinal Fluid from Patients with Alzheimer's but Not Parkinson's Disease or Dementia with Lewy Bodies. PLoS One. 2015 Aug 13;10(8):e0135458.
Hoozemans JJM, van Haastert ES, Mulder SD, Nielsen HM, Veerhuis R, Ruijtenbeek R, Rozemuller AJM, Hilhorts R, van der Vies SM. Increased IRAK-4 kinase activity in Alzheimer’s disease: IRAK-1/4 inhibitor I prevents pro-inflammatory cytokine secretion but not uptake of amyloid beta by primary human glia. Journal of Clinical & Cellular Immunology. 2014 August 4: 5:4
Schultz N, Nielsen HM, Minthon L, Wennström M. Involvement of MMP-9 in Amyloid-beta 1-42 induced shedding of pericytic NG2. Journal of Neuropathology and Experimental Neurology. 2014 Jul;73(7):684-92
Zhao J, Fu Y, Liu-C-C, Shinohara M, Nielsen HM, Dong Q, Kanekiyo T, Bu G. Retinoic acid isomers facilitate apolipoprotein E production and lipidation in astrocytes through the RXR/RAR pathway. Journal of Biological Chemistry. 2014 Apr 18;289(16):11282-92
Wennström M, Nielsen HM, Orhan F, Londos E, Minthon L, Erhardt S. Kynurenic acid levels in cerebrospinal fluid from patients with Alzheimer´s disease or dementia with Lewy bodies. 2014 International Journal of Tryptophan Research. 7: 1–7
Martinez-Morillo E, Hansson O, Atagi Y, Bu G, Minthon L, Diamandis EP, Nielsen HM. Total apolipoprotein E levels and specific isoform composition in cerebrospinal fluid and plasma from Alzheimer’s disease patients and controls. ACTA Neuropathologica. 2014 May;127(5):633-43
Martinez-Morillo E, Nielsen HM, Batruch I, Dabrovich AP, Begcevic I, Lopez MF, Minthon L, Bu G, Mattson N, Portelius E, Hansson O, Diamandis EP. Assessment of Peptide Chemical Modifications on the Development of an Accurate and Precise Multiplex Selected Reaction Monitoring Assay for Apolipoprotein E Isoforms. Journal of Proteome Research. 2014 Feb 7;13(2):1077
Mulder SD, Nielsen HM, Blankeinstein MA, Eikelenboom P, Veerhuis R. Apolipoproteins E and J interfere with amyloid-beta uptake by primary human astrocytes and microglia in vitro. GLIA 2014 Apr;62(4):493-503
Nielsen HM, Hall S, Surova Y, Nägga K, Nilsson C, Minthon L, Hansson O, Wennström M. Low levels of soluble NG2 in cerebrospinal fluid from patients with dementia with Lewy bodies. Journal of Alzheimer’s disease. 2014 Jan 1;40(2):343-50
Lindqvist D, Hall S, Surova S, Sporre O, Nielsen H, Janelidze S, Brundin L, Hansson O. Cerebrospinal fluid inflammatory markers in Parkinson´s disease - associations with depression, fatigue, and cognitive impairment. Brain, behavior, and immunity. 2013 Oct;33:183-9
Nielsen HM, Ek D, Avdic U, Orbjörn C, Hansson O, The Netherlands Brain Bank, Veerhuis R, Rozemuller AJM, Brun A, Minthon L, Wennström M. NG2 cells, a new trail for Alzheimer’s disease mechanisms? Acta Neuropathologica Communications 2013 May 9;1(1):7
Wennström M, Surova Y, Hall S, Nilsson C, Minthon L, Boström F, Hansson O, Nielsen HM. Low levels of neurosin and its substrate α-synuclein in patients with synucleinopathy. PLoS One. 2013;8(1):e53250. Epub 2013 Jan 8
Westin K, Buchave P, Nielsen HM, Minthon L, Janciauskiene S, Hansson O. High levels of CCL2 are associated with faster cognitive decline in prodromal Alzheimer’s disease. PLoS One. 2012;7(1):e30525. Epub 2012 Jan 30
Wennström M, Londos E, Minthon L, Nielsen HM. Altered CSF orexin and α-synuclein levels in dementia patients. Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease 2012 Jan 1;29(1):125-32.
Nielsen HM, Palmqvist S, Minthon L, Londos E, Wennström M. Gender-dependent levels of hyaluronic acid in cerebrospinal fluid of patients with neurodegenerative dementia. Current Alzheimer Research. 2012 Mar 1;9(3):257-66
Mulder SD, Veerhuis R, Blankenstein MA, Nielsen HM. The effect of amyloid associated proteins on the expression of genes involved in amyloid clearance by adult human astrocytes. Experimental Neurology 2012 Jan;233(1):373-9. Epub 2011 Nov 10
Nielsen HM, Mulder SD, Beliën JAM, Musters RJP, Eikelenboom P, Veerhuis R. Astrocytic Aβ1-42 uptake is determined by Aβ-aggregation state and the presence of amyloid-associated proteins. Glia. 2010 58(10):1235-46.
Nielsen HM, Veerhuis R, Holmqvist B, Janciauskiene S. Binding and uptake of Abeta1-42 by primary human astrocytes in vitro. Glia 2009 57(9):978-88
Trouw LA, Nielsen HM, Minthon L, Londos E, Landberg G, Veerhuis R, Janciauskiene S, Blom AM. C4b-binding protein in Alzheimer's disease: binding to Abeta1-42 and to dead cells. Molecular Immunology 2008 45(13):3649-60
Nielsen HM, Minthon L, Londos E, Blennow K, Miranda E, Perez J, Crowther DC, Lomas DA, Janciauskiene SM. Plasma and CSF serpins in Alzheimer disease and dementia with Lewy bodies. Neurology 2007 69(16):1569-1579
Nielsen HM, Londos E, Minthon L, Janciauskiene SM. Soluble adhesion molecules and angiotensin-converting enzyme in dementia. Neurobiology of Disease 2007 26(1):27-35
Baker C*, Nielsen HM*, Minthon L, Wright HT, Chappell S, Okyere J, May S, Morgan K, Kalsheker N, Janciauskiene SM. Effects of Alzheimer's peptide and alpha1-antichymotrypsin on astrocyte gene expression. Neurobiology of Aging 2007 28(1):51-61

Review articles

Loch RA, Wang H, Perálvarez-Marín A, Berger P, Nielsen H, Chroni A, Luo J. Cross interactions between Apolipoprotein E and amyloid proteins in neurodegenerative diseases. Computational and Structural Biotechnology Journal. 2023 Jan 20;21:1189-1204
Fernández-Calle R., Konings SC., Frontiñán-Rubio J., García-Revilla J., Camprubí-Ferrer L., Svensson M., Martinson I., Boza-Serrano I., Venero JL., Nielsen HM., Gouras GK., Deierborg T. APOE in the bullseye of neurodegenerative diseases: Impact of the APOE genotype in Alzheimer’s disease pathology and brain diseases. Molecular Neurodegeneration. 2022 Sep 24;17(1):62.
Twohig D, Nielsen HM. α-synuclein in the pathophysiology of Alzheimer’s disease. Molecular Neurodegeneration. 2019 Jun 11;14(1):23
Wennström M, Nielsen HM. Cell adhesion molecules in Alzheimer’s disease. Degenerative Neurological and Neuromuscular Disease. 2012 July 4;2012(2):65-77
Veerhuis R, Nielsen HM, Tenner AJ. Complement in the brain. Molecular Immunology 2011 48(14):1592-603

Book chapters

Raber J and Nielsen HM. Humanized liver mouse and human in vitro models to study the role of liver-derived apolipoprotein E in brain function. Accepted for inclusion in APOLIPOPROTEIN E: FROM BIOCHEMISTRY AND BIOLOGY TO TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE, edited by Reinaldo B. Oriá, J. Wesson Ashford, Carr Smith. Springer Nature.
Rodriguez-Vieitez E, Nielsen HM. Associations Between APOE Variants, Tau and α-Synuclein. Chapter 15. Adv Exp Med Biol. 2019;1184:177-186. doi: 10.1007/978-981-32-9358-8_15
Carrasquillo MM, Bu G, Nielsen HM. Chapter 2: Apolipoprotein E. ‘Genetic Variants in Alzheimer's Disease’ edited by Carrasquillo and Morgan. Springer NY. June 30, 2013. ISBN 978-1-4614-7308-4

Research

CURRENT and FORMER GROUP MEMBERS

Maja Sjödahl, PhD student
Anne den Breejen, Erasmus exchange student
Kalicharan Patra, postdoc/researcher
Veronica Cartocci, Postdoc
Daniel Twohig, PhD student
Andreas Giannisis, PhD student
Jane Prihodova, master project student
Anna Edlund, PhD student
Robert Forsyth, visiting student from Univresity of Illinois
Michael Prabhu, visiting student from University of Illinois
Melanie Schultz, Erasmus exchange student
Stephani Cabelnes, Erasmus exchange student
Anežka Niesnerova, lab technician
Dimitra Karampatsi, master project student
Andrés de la Rosa, master project student
Lur Agirrezabala Nieto, Erasmus exchange student
Joan Benedicto Gras, Erasmus exchange student
Nerea Capon, research trainee
Svenja Fiedler, research trainee
Natalia Fijol, research trainee
Catharina Lotsch, Erasmus exchange student
Durga Inturi, master student
Erik Becher, research trainee
Simon Moussaud, researcher
Patricia Parra Martin, Erasmus exchange student
Alenni Lopez Perez, master student
Carl Blomqvist, master student
Chiara di Furia, master student

RESEARCH FOCUS

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) followed by dementia with Lewy bodes is the main cause of neurodegenerative dementia. The neuropathological hallmarks for these disorders are different however they do share many similarities. Risk factors for both disorders include high age, gender and various environmental factors affected by diet, exercise and education. The APOEε4 allele is to date the strongest and most replicated genetic risk factor for sporadic late onset AD and recent studies have further demonstrated an increased risk of DLB in individuals carrying an APOEε4-allele. In contrary, the APOEε2 allele is protective against both disorders. In humans the APOE gene is polymorphic with 3 different variants (APOEε2, APOEε3, APOEε4) contrary to other mammals who only have one type. The biological mechanisms underlying the variation in risk of diseases due to APOE genotype are yet to be determined. It is well-known that individuals with an APOEε4 genotype exhibit AD-related brain pathology already at the 4th or 5th decade of life in the absence of cognitive symptoms. We have previously shown that the APOE gene product apolipoprotein E (apoE) negatively affects amyloid-β uptake in cultures of primary human glial cells (Nielsen et al 2010, Mulder et al 2014) as well as rodent cells (Fu et al 2016). Results from our recent studies also propose that APOEε4-carriers are deficient in plasma apoE due to a specific reduction of apoE4 isoform levels (Martinez-Morillo et al 2014). Whether this plasma apoE-deficiency contributes to risk of neurodegenerative disease is one of our main research areas.

In our group we investigate biological mechanisms promoting/leading to neurodegenerative dementia. Using primary human cell cultures we are investigating the cellular responses to disease-associated molecules and in brain tissues from patients with neurodegenerative dementia we are searching for disease-specific protein complexes that can be traced as biomarkers in either cerebrospinal fluid or plasma samples from patients at risk of or with neurodegenerative disease

Currently we are working on :

Peripheral, mainly hepatic, signatures/endophenotypes of APOE4 and their potential relation to the APOE4-promoted risk of neurodegenerative disease.

In our efforts to further our understanding of processes linked to neurodegenerative disease we have for several years closely collaborated with many international colleagues and are always open to new collaborations.