Journal: Nutrients

Article Title: Phycocyanobilin as a Functional Food-Derived Nutraceutical Candidate for Modulating the RAGE/NOX4 Axis in Neurodegenerative Disorders

doi: 10.3390/nu18040617

Figure Lengend Snippet: PCB mitigates AGEs-induced mitochondrial-dependent apoptosis in SH-SY5Y cells. Cells were pretreated with PCB at 10 μmol/L (PCB 10), 30 μmol/L (PCB 30), or 50 μmol/L (PCB 50), or with TTP488 (100 μmol/L), for 1 h prior to exposure to AGEs (300 μg/mL) for 24 h. ( A ) Evaluation of Bcl-2 and Bax expression was performed at the protein level by immunoassay and at the mRNA level by RT-PCR. ( B ) Enzymatic activities of caspase-9 and caspase-3 were assessed using colorimetric assays based on the proteolytic conversion of the peptide substrates Ac-LEHD-pNA and Ac-DEVD-pNA, respectively, and their corresponding mRNA expression levels were analyzed by RT-PCR. ( C ) Cytochrome c distribution in mitochondrial and cytosolic fractions was analyzed to evaluate mitochondrial membrane integrity. ( D ) Apoptosis-associated DNA fragmentation was quantified using a nucleosome-based ELISA. Quantitative data are presented as mean ± SD from five independent experiments ( n = 5), with each condition analyzed in triplicate. Statistical significance was determined by one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s post hoc test. Superscript letters indicate statistically significant differences as follows: a, p < 0.05; b, p < 0.01 vs. vehicle-treated control (control); c, p < 0.05; d, p < 0.01 vs. vehicle-treated cells stimulated with AGEs.

Article Snippet: Apoptosis-associated proteins Bcl-2 (Cat# CBCAB00158) and Bax (Cat# CBCAB00157) were quantified using ELISA kits obtained from Assay Genie (Dublin, Ireland).

Techniques: Expressing, Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction, Membrane, Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay, Control

Journal: bioRxiv

Article Title: Sympathetic Controls Fate and Function of Adult Sensory Neurons

doi: 10.64898/2026.02.12.702354

Figure Lengend Snippet: (A) Representative immunofluorescence images showing elevated cleaved caspase-3 expression in L4 DRG 16 hours after mSYMPX. (B) Quantification of cleaved caspase-3 fluorescence intensity normalized to the cellular area confirmed increased expression in the mSYMPX group (unpaired t-test: ***p < 0.001 vs. sham, n=6). (C) Proteome profiling identified differentially expressed proteins between sham and mSYMPX groups. (D) Illustration of the cytokine array containing 21 different antibodies with duplicates. The array also contains three positive control (PC) proteins with strong signals in three corners of the membrane (for each membrane was used n=3). (E) Volcano plot highlighting downregulation of anti-apoptotic proteins in DRG tissues with mSYMPX. (F-G) Western blot analysis showing XIAP downregulation at POD2, with band quantification confirming reduced expression level (unpaired t-test: *p < 0.05 vs. sham, n=3). (H) ELISA analysis demonstrated upregulation of the pro-apoptotic proteins BAX (n=5-7) and Smac/Diablo (I) (one-way ANOVA with Tukey’s post hoc test; *p < 0.05 vs. control, n=6). (J) apoptosis pathway summary.

Article Snippet: After blocking with bovine serum albumin (BSA) for 1 hour, membranes were incubated overnight at 4 °C with X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis protein (XIAP) antibody (Rabbit, 1:500, Novus Biologicals, Cat. No. NBP220918).

Techniques: Immunofluorescence, Expressing, Fluorescence, Positive Control, Membrane, Western Blot, Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay, Control