Journal: eBioMedicine

Article Title: The therapeutic effects of the VEGF decoy receptor fusion protein VEGF-Grab in chronic inflammatory diseases

doi: 10.1016/j.ebiom.2026.106216

Figure Lengend Snippet: Inhibitory effects of PB101 on angiogenesis. ( A ) Endothelial cell chemotactic migration assay. EA.hy926 cells (1 × 10 5 , n = 3) were loaded in the upper chambers of Transwell inserts and chemoattracted by VEGF (100 ng/mL) or PlGF-2 (40 ng/mL) with or without PB101 (2 or 5 μg/mL) in the lower chambers. The cells that migrated to the underside of the Transwell chamber were manually counted, and the results are presented as a percentage of the untreated control (none). ( B ) Wounding migration of endothelial cells. EA.hy926 cells (4 × 10 5 , n = 5) seeded on a 6-well plate were wounded using pipette tips and treated with VEGF (200 ng/mL) or PlGF-2 (100 ng/mL) with or without PB101 (2 or 5 μg/mL). The cells that crossed the reference lines (red dashed lines) were counted as migrated cells. ( C ) Capillary tube formation by endothelial cells. EA.hy926 cells (3 × 10 4 , n = 3–4) were seeded on a Matrigel-coated 96-well plate and incubated with VEGF (500 ng/mL) or PlGF-2 (500 ng/mL) with or without PB101 (10 or 50 μg/mL). The tube formation area was measured and is presented as an arbitrary unit (a.u.). The cellular images are representative of three independent experiments. Scale bar, 200 μm. The bar graphs present the mean and SEM. The p-values were determined via one-way ANOVA with Tukey's multiple comparisons test. ∗p < 0.05, ∗∗p < 0.01, and ∗∗∗p < 0.001, ∗∗∗∗p < 0.0001 vs. untreated controls. # p < 0.05, ## p < 0.01 vs. PlGF- or VEGF-treated positive controls. ( D and E ) Suppression of recombinant PlGF-induced angiogenesis by PB101 in a Matrigel plug assay. C57BL/6 mice (n = 3, total 12 mice) were injected subcutaneously with Matrigel mixed with VEGF (500 ng/mL) or recombinant PlGF-2 (200 ng/mL) with or without PB101 (50 μg/mL) (D). Mice were injected with vehicle or PB101 (50 mg/kg) every day. To assess the effects of PlGF-overexpressing T cells, CD4 + T cells isolated from PlGF transgenic (PlGF Tg) mice were stimulated with anti-CD3/CD28 Abs for 48 h. PlGF Tg CD4 + T cells (5 × 10 5 ) and their culture supernatants were incorporated into Matrigel with or without PB101 (50 μg/mL) (E). C57BL/6 mice (n = 3) were subcutaneously injected with these Matrigel plugs and received daily injections of Fc vehicle or PB101 (50 mg/kg). After 14 days, the vascularity of the Matrigel plugs was evaluated through visual assessment and H&E staining of the tissue sections. Scale bars, 500 nm (top) for Matrigel plugs, and 100 (middle) and 1000 (bottom) μm for H&E. The boxed areas in the upper panels of the H&E-stained images are shown at higher magnification in the lower panels. ( F ) Immunohistochemical staining of the Matrigel plugs was performed using an anti-F4/80 Ab to assess macrophage infiltration. The macrophages were manually counted in three randomly selected fields per section of total nine sites per group. Scale bars, 100 μm. The bar graphs present the mean and SEM. ∗∗∗∗p < 0.0001 vs. untreated controls. ### p < 0.001 and #### p < 0.0001 vs. PB101-untreated positive controls. The p-values were determined via Kruskal–Wallis with Dunn's multiple comparisons test.

Article Snippet: Cytokines in the culture medium were quantified by sandwich ELISA using 96-well plates (catalog 655061; Greiner Bio-One, Kremsmünster, Austria) according to the manufacturer's instructions (BD Biosciences).

Techniques: Migration, Control, Transferring, Incubation, Recombinant, Matrigel Assay, Injection, Isolation, Transgenic Assay, Staining, Immunohistochemical staining