Journal: bioRxiv

Article Title: Pancreatic cancer extracellular vesicles carry a time-of-day-regulated miRNA cargo that disrupts the skeletal muscle clock and bioenergetics

doi: 10.64898/2026.05.03.722338

Figure Lengend Snippet: (A) Bioluminescence recording, ( B ) period analysis, and ( C ) phase and amplitude analysis of U2OS BMAL1 :Luc reporter cells treated with PANC-1 CM at 12.5%, 25%, 50%, and 100% of the recording media. ( D ) Bioluminescence recording, ( E ) period analysis, and ( F ) phase and amplitude analysis of NIH3T3 Bmal1 :Luc reporter cells treated with PANC-1 CM at the same concentrations. For all bioluminescence experiments, at least three complete oscillations were included in the period estimation, excluding the first 24 h. Mean ± SD of relative mRNA expression of NIH3T3 core clock genes Bmal1 ( G ), Per2 ( H ), and Cry2 ( I ) measured over 36 h in response to PANC-1 CM. Relative mRNA levels of core clock genes in synchronized C2C12 myotubes over 32 h following treatment with PANC-1 CM: ( J ) Bmal1 , ( K ) Per2 , and ( L ) Cry2 . Cosine curves were fit for visualization purposes only; solid lines represent rhythmic oscillations (p<0.05) detected by MetaCycle, while dashed lines indicate loss of statistical rhythmicity (Suppl. Table 1). ( G–L ) Black: Control; ( G–I ) Red: PANC-1 CM; ( J–L ) Blue: PANC-1 CM. ( M ) Schematic representation and representative images of mature C2C12 myotube atrophy in response to NIH3T3 or PANC-1 released factors using a Transwell co-culture system; three measurements per myotube (yellow arrows) were used to quantify shortening. ( N ) Quantification of normalized myotube diameter under NIH3T3 vs PANC-1 co-culture, normalized to NIH3T3 co-culture control. One-way ANOVA: ( B ) p=0.0009, ( E ) p=0.0087. ( B, E ) Dunnett’s post-hoc test: *p<0.05; **p<0.01; ***p<0.001. (N) Student’s t-test: ***p<0.001.

Article Snippet: The human pancreatic cancer cell line PANC-1, the murine fibroblast cell line NIH3T3, and the murine myoblast cell line C2C12 were purchased from American Type Culture Collection (ATCC, Manassas, VA).

Techniques: Expressing, Control, Co-Culture Assay

Journal: bioRxiv

Article Title: Pancreatic cancer extracellular vesicles carry a time-of-day-regulated miRNA cargo that disrupts the skeletal muscle clock and bioenergetics

doi: 10.64898/2026.05.03.722338

Figure Lengend Snippet: (A) Top 35 miRNAs by mean expression in PANC-1-derived sEVs. Bar plot of mean log2 CPM across 9 time-points (4–36 h). Red bars: miRNAs selected from the top 35 to be tested in the BMAL1 :Luc reporter and atrophy assays; grey bars: remaining top-35 miRNAs. miRNAs are ranked in descending order of EV expression. ( B ) GO Biological Process enrichment of the experimentally validated targets (miRTarBase) of the 11 selected miRNAs. Terms are grouped into functional categories. Dot size represents the number of validated target genes associated with each term; dot color indicates Gene Ratio (proportion of input genes annotated to the term), from light pink (low) to dark red (high). Analysis performed with clusterProfiler. ( C , top panel) Normalized C2C12 myotube diameter at 0, 24, and 48 h post-transfection with miR-27b-3p, miR-615-3p, miR-191-5p, miR-127-3p, miR-99b-5p, or negative-transfection control (NTC); dexamethasone (Dexa) included as positive control. ( C , lower panel) Normalized C2C12 myotube diameter at the same time-points after transfection with hsa-let-7f-5p, miR-183-5p, miR-92a-3p, miR-30c-5p, miR-26a-5p, miR-10a-5p, NTC, or Dexa. ( D ) Oxygen consumption rate (OCR; top), resting-phenotype plot of basal OCR vs ECAR (middle), and metabolic-capacity plot of maximal OCR vs ECAR following FCCP (lower) for mature C2C12 myotubes 48 h post-transfection with miR-27b-3p, miR-615-3p, miR-191-5p, or NTC (Control). ( E ) Same panels for myotubes transfected with miR-127-3p, miR-99b-5p, miR-183-5p, or NTC. Sequential injections of oligomycin, FCCP, and rotenone/antimycin A were used to dissect mitochondrial respiration. Data are presented as mean ± SEM. ( C ) Measurements were taken from at least 5 random fields per well in N=3 wells; statistical analysis used 2-way ANOVA with Dunnett’s post-hoc correction: *p<0.05; **p<0.01; ***p<0.001; ****p<0.0001.

Article Snippet: The human pancreatic cancer cell line PANC-1, the murine fibroblast cell line NIH3T3, and the murine myoblast cell line C2C12 were purchased from American Type Culture Collection (ATCC, Manassas, VA).

Techniques: Expressing, Derivative Assay, Functional Assay, Transfection, Control, Positive Control

Journal: Molecular Medicine Reports

Article Title: Veronicastrum sibiricum (L.) Pennell extract alleviates inflammation-induced muscle atrophy through NLRP3 inflammasome regulation and mitochondrial function restoration

doi: 10.3892/mmr.2026.13857

Figure Lengend Snippet: Effects of VSE on inflammation-induced muscle atrophy in C2C12 myotubes. All experiments were carried out after C2C12 myoblasts had differentiated into myotubes for 4 days. C2C12 myotubes were pretreated with 0 (LPS only), 1.25, 2.5 or 5 µg/ml VSE for 3 h and then co-treated with 500 ng/ml LPS for (B, D and E) 24 h and (C) 48 h. Controls received no treatments. (A) C2C12 myotubes were exposed to 0–10 µg/ml VSE for 48 h to assess cytotoxicity. (B) mRNA levels of muscle-specific E3 ubiquitin ligases MuRF1 and atrogin-1 were measured using reverse transcription-quantitative PCR. (C) Giemsa-stained images of C2C12 myotubes showing changes in relative fiber width after treatment. CON, untreated control; LPS, 500 ng/ml; 1.25, 2.5 and 5, co-treatment with LPS (500 ng/ml) and VSE at the indicated concentrations (µg/ml). Analysis was performed using ImageJ (National Institutes of Health). Scale bar, 100 µm. Western blot analysis of (D) MuRF1, MaFbx and MyHC protein levels, and (E) phosphorylated Akt and Foxo3a, including membrane images and semi-quantitative analysis using ImageJ. All data are presented as the mean ± SD of triplicate results and statistical analysis was carried out using one-way ANOVA with Tukey's post hoc test. ## P<0.01 and #### P<0.0001 vs. control group; *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, *** P < 0.001, ****P < 0.0001 vs. LPS-treated group. MuRF1, muscle-specific RING finger protein 1; MaFbx, muscle atrophy F-box protein; MyHC, myosin heavy chain; CON, control; LPS, lipopolysaccharide; VSE, Veronicastrum sibiricum seed extract; p-, phosphorylated; ns, not significant.

Article Snippet: Murine C2C12 myoblast cells were obtained from American Type Culture Collection.

Techniques: Ubiquitin Proteomics, Reverse Transcription, Real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction, Staining, Control, Western Blot, Membrane

Journal: Molecular Medicine Reports

Article Title: Veronicastrum sibiricum (L.) Pennell extract alleviates inflammation-induced muscle atrophy through NLRP3 inflammasome regulation and mitochondrial function restoration

doi: 10.3892/mmr.2026.13857

Figure Lengend Snippet: VSE downregulates the NLRP3 inflammasome. C2C12 myotubes were pretreated with VSE at 0 (LPS only), 1.25, 2.5 and 5 µg/ml for 3 h and then co-treated with 500 ng/ml LPS for 24 h. Controls received no treatments. (A) mRNA expression levels of NLRP3 , the NLRP3 inflammasome initiator, were analyzed using reverse transcription-quantitative PCR. (B) Protein expression levels of factors associated with the NLPR3 pathway, a major pyroptosis pathway, were analyzed using western blotting and ImageJ. All data are presented as the mean ± SD of triplicate results and statistical analysis was carried out using one-way ANOVA with Tukey's post hoc test. #### P<0.0001, ### P<0.001, ## P<0.01 vs. control; *P<0.05, **P<0.01, ***P<0.001, ****P<0.0001 vs. LPS treatment. NLRP3, NLR family pyrin domain containing 3; GSDMD, gasdermin-D; LPS, lipopolysaccharide; VSE, Veronicastrum sibiricum seed extract.

Article Snippet: Murine C2C12 myoblast cells were obtained from American Type Culture Collection.

Techniques: Expressing, Reverse Transcription, Real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction, Western Blot, Control

Journal: Molecular Medicine Reports

Article Title: Veronicastrum sibiricum (L.) Pennell extract alleviates inflammation-induced muscle atrophy through NLRP3 inflammasome regulation and mitochondrial function restoration

doi: 10.3892/mmr.2026.13857

Figure Lengend Snippet: VSE reduces the secretion of proinflammatory cytokines. C2C12 myotubes were pretreated with VSE at 0 (LPS only), 1.25, 2.5 and 5 µg/ml for 3 h and then co-treated with 500 ng/ml LPS for 24 h. Controls received no treatments. (A) mRNA expression levels of the proinflammatory cytokines TNF-α and IL-1β were analyzed using reverse transcription-quantitative PCR. (B) Protein expression levels of the proinflammatory cytokines TNF-α and IL-1β in the supernatant of C2C12 myotube cultures were analyzed using ELISA. All data are presented as the mean ± SD of triplicate results and statistical analysis was carried out using one-way ANOVA with Tukey's post hoc test. #### P<0.0001 vs. control; ***P<0.001, ****P<0.0001 vs. LPS treatment. A450, absorbance at 450 nm; LPS, lipopolysaccharide; VSE, Veronicastrum sibiricum seed extract.

Article Snippet: Murine C2C12 myoblast cells were obtained from American Type Culture Collection.

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

Journal: Molecular Medicine Reports

Article Title: Veronicastrum sibiricum (L.) Pennell extract alleviates inflammation-induced muscle atrophy through NLRP3 inflammasome regulation and mitochondrial function restoration

doi: 10.3892/mmr.2026.13857

Figure Lengend Snippet: VSE exerts antioxidant effects in C2C12 myotubes. C2C12 myotubes were pretreated with 0 (LPS only), 1.25, 2.5 and 5 µg/ml VSE for 3 h and then co-treated with 500 ng/ml LPS for 24 h. (A) Protein expression levels of antioxidant-related factors HO-1, Nrf2 and Keap1, and mitochondrial metabolism-related factor PGC-1α were analyzed using western blotting. (B) Images (left) were obtained under a fluorescence microscope to investigate the generation of mitochondrial ROS using ImageJ (right). Scale bar, 100 µm. All data are presented as the mean ± SD of triplicate results, and statistical analysis was carried out using one-way ANOVA with Tukey's post hoc test. # P<0.05, ## P<0.01, #### P<0.0001 vs. control; *P<0.05, **P<0.01, ***P<0.001, ****P<0.0001 vs. LPS treatment. LPS, lipopolysaccharide; VSE, Veronicastrum sibiricum seed extract; ROS, reactive oxygen species; HO-1, heme oxygenase-1; Nrf2, nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2; Keap1, kelch like ECH associated protein 1; PGC-1α, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ coactivator 1α; CON, control.

Article Snippet: Murine C2C12 myoblast cells were obtained from American Type Culture Collection.

Techniques: Expressing, Western Blot, Fluorescence, Microscopy, Control

Journal: Molecular Medicine Reports

Article Title: Veronicastrum sibiricum (L.) Pennell extract alleviates inflammation-induced muscle atrophy through NLRP3 inflammasome regulation and mitochondrial function restoration

doi: 10.3892/mmr.2026.13857

Figure Lengend Snippet: VSE exerts protective effects on mitochondrial function, reducing functional impairment under inflammatory conditions. C2C12 myotubes were pretreated with 0 (LPS only), 1.25, 2.5 and 5 µg/ml VSE for 3 h and then co-treated with 500 ng/ml LPS for 24 h. (A) Protein expression levels of the mitochondrial dynamics-related OXPHOS genes, including CI-CV, were analyzed using western blotting. (B) JC-1 staining was carried out to assess the mitochondrial membrane potential. Representative images of JC-1 fluorescence (red/green) were analyzed using ImageJ (National Institutes of Health). Scale bar, 25 µm. All data are presented as the mean ± SD of triplicate results and statistical analysis was carried out using one-way ANOVA with Tukey's post hoc test. ## P<0.01, #### P<0.0001 vs. control; *P<0.05, **P<0.01, ***P<0.001, ****P<0.0001 vs. LPS treatment. LPS, lipopolysaccharide; VSE, Veronicastrum sibiricum seed extract; CI-CV, complexes I–V; OXPHOS, oxidative phosphorylation system; CON, control.

Article Snippet: Murine C2C12 myoblast cells were obtained from American Type Culture Collection.

Techniques: Functional Assay, Expressing, Western Blot, Staining, Membrane, Fluorescence, Control, Phospho-proteomics