human embryonic kidney hek293 cells  (ATCC)

Journal: Journal of Sport and Health Science

Article Title: Exercise training-induced extracellular miR-136-3p modulates glucose uptake and myogenesis through targeting of NRDC in human skeletal muscle

doi: 10.1016/j.jshs.2025.101091

Figure Lengend Snippet: MiR-136-3p content in cell culture medium and uptake of extracellular miR-136-3p into cultured myotubes. MiRNA content in (A) human myotubes and (B) human pancreatic islets culture media. Results were first normalized using RNU1A1 and then presented in relation to miR-23a-3p content for n = 4 different donors for myotubes cultures and n = 4 donors for human islets. Left panel (C) shows bright-field image of cultured human myotubes and right panel (C) shows a representative fluorescence image of cultured human myotubes with cells exposed to human serum-derived EVs loaded with Cy3-miR-136-3p. Cy3 fluorescence (red) is detected in the whole cytoplasm of the human myotubes. (D) Representative fluorescence image of human myotubes exposed to HEK293 culture medium with EVs loaded with Cy3-miR-136-3p (red). (E) Representative image of human myotubes exposed to EVs loaded with TexasRed-labeled with a control RNA (orange). Nuclear Hoechst staining is shown in blue. Scale bar = 100 μm. EVs = extracellular vesicles; HEK293 = human embryonic kidney; miR = microRNA; Rel = relative; RNU1A1 = U1 small nuclear RNA.

Article Snippet: Human embryonic kidney (HEK293) cells were obtained from American Type Culture Collection (ATCC) and cultured in high-glucose (4.5 g/L) Dulbecco's Modified Eagle Medium (DMEM; Thermo Fisher Scientific, Waltham, MA, USA), supplemented with 10% (vol/vol) FBS.

Techniques: Cell Culture, Fluorescence, Derivative Assay, Labeling, Control, Staining

Journal: Journal of Sport and Health Science

Article Title: Exercise training-induced extracellular miR-136-3p modulates glucose uptake and myogenesis through targeting of NRDC in human skeletal muscle

doi: 10.1016/j.jshs.2025.101091

Figure Lengend Snippet: NRDC is a direct target of miR-136-3p in human myotubes. Skeletal muscle NRDC mRNA is responsive to training and inactivity. (A) Tissue mRNA expression of NRDC from the Human Protein Atlas database showing enriched expression of NRDC in human skeletal muscle. (B) The miR-136-3p target site in the NRDC gene is highly conserved in mammals. (C) Luciferase activity in HEK293 cells co-transfected the NRDC 3’UTR and miR-136-3p with or without anti-miR136-3p inhibitors. miR-136-3p transfection downregulates NRDC (D) mRNA and (E) representative image of protein abundance in human myotubes. (F) Publicly available data ( GSE14413 ) showing NRDC mRNA expression in human skeletal muscle of healthy young participants after 6 weeks of endurance training ( n = 8). (G) Publicly available data ( GSE120862 ) showing NRDC mRNA expression in human skeletal muscle of healthy young participants after 2 months of aerobic training ( n = 10). (H) Publicly available data ( GSE14901 ) showing NRDC mRNA expression in human skeletal muscle of healthy young participants after 14 days of immobilization ( n = 24). * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.005. GSE = gene set enrichment; HEK293 = human embryonic kidney; miR = microRNA; NC = negative control; NRDC = nardilysin convertase; nTPM = normalized transcripts per million; si NRDC = small interfering RNA of NRDC ; UTR = untranslated region.

Article Snippet: Human embryonic kidney (HEK293) cells were obtained from American Type Culture Collection (ATCC) and cultured in high-glucose (4.5 g/L) Dulbecco's Modified Eagle Medium (DMEM; Thermo Fisher Scientific, Waltham, MA, USA), supplemented with 10% (vol/vol) FBS.

Techniques: Expressing, Luciferase, Activity Assay, Transfection, Quantitative Proteomics, Negative Control, Small Interfering RNA

Journal: Bioactive Materials

Article Title: Chronic inflammation-responsive hydrogel restores myeloid-T cell crosstalk to reinvigorate antitumor immunity against metastatic colorectal cancer

doi: 10.1016/j.bioactmat.2026.03.012

Figure Lengend Snippet: PGE2 blockade modulates immune cell phenotypes in antitumor resp onses. (A) Inflammatory gene expression across cancer types (GEPIA2 database). (B) Gene expression of Il1b , Cxcl8 , and Lif in colon adenocarcinoma (COAD) tumor tissue and normal tissue (GEPIA2 database). (C and D) Correlation between Ptgs2 and inflammatory genes in various cancers (C) and COAD (D) (TIMER 2.0). (E) Schematic of immune cells co-incubated with CXB treated tumor conditional medium (TCM) (Source material from BioRender). (F and G) Cell viability (F) and Cell cycle arrest (G) detection of CT26 tumor cells treated with gradient concentrations of CXB; n = 3. (H) PGE2 concentration in CT26 cell supernatants; n = 3. (I) The proportion of CD103 + DC within BMDCs after CXB treatments in vitro ; n = 3. (J and K) Maturation (J) and Antigen processing capability (K) on BMDCs; n = 3. (L – N) Flow charts of CD86 or CD206 expression on Raw 264.7 cells (L). Quantification of CD86 (M) and CD206 (N) expression on Raw 264.7 cells; n = 3. (O and P) Flow charts (O) and Quantification (P) of CD69 and CD137 expression on splenic T cells exposed to CXB-pretreated TCM; n = 3. (Q) IFN-γ secretion by T cells co-cultured with CXB-pretreated TCM; n = 3. Data are presented as mean ± SD, ∗ p < 0.05, ∗∗ p < 0.01, ∗∗∗ p < 0.001. Significance was calculated using One-way ANOVA.

Article Snippet: CT26 cells and Raw 264.7 were purchased from the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC; Manassas, VA, USA).

Techniques: Gene Expression, Incubation, Concentration Assay, In Vitro, Expressing, Cell Culture

Journal: Bioactive Materials

Article Title: Chronic inflammation-responsive hydrogel restores myeloid-T cell crosstalk to reinvigorate antitumor immunity against metastatic colorectal cancer

doi: 10.1016/j.bioactmat.2026.03.012

Figure Lengend Snippet: Sustained PGE2 blockade prompts immune activ ation. (A) Structure of hydrogel matrix and scheme of Gel-CXB preparation (Source material from BioRender). (B) Microstructure of the hydrogel. (C) Rheological evaluation of Gel-CXB. (D) CXB release from Gel-CXB in PBS or PBS containing 0.5 mM H 2 O 2 ; n = 3. (E and F) Flow chart (E) and Quantification (F) of CD103 + DC within BMDCs; n = 3. (G and H) Flow chart (G) and Heatmap (H) of costimulatory molecular expression on CD103 - DC, CD103 + DC, or total DC with different treatments; n = 3. (I and J) CXCL9 (I) and Costimulatory molecular expression (J) on cDC1; n = 3. (K – M) CD86 and CD206 expression (K), MHC-II expression (L), and Antigen processing capability (M) of BMDMs incubated with different TCM; n = 3. (N and O) CD69 (N) and CD137 (O) expression on CD8 + T cells co-incubated with different TCM; n = 3. (P) Scheme of Gel-CXB-regulated CT26 TME at different time points in vivo . (Q) Changes of several immune cells within TME at Day 1, 5, and 9; n = 3. (R) Tumor volume of mice treated with CXB alone or Gel-CXB in vivo ; n = 5. (S) CD137 expression on CD8 + T cells in vivo ; n = 3. Data are presented as mean ± SD, ∗ p < 0.05, ∗∗ p < 0.01, ∗∗∗ p < 0.001. Significance was calculated using One-way ANOVA.

Article Snippet: CT26 cells and Raw 264.7 were purchased from the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC; Manassas, VA, USA).

Techniques: Expressing, Incubation, In Vivo

Journal: Bioactive Materials

Article Title: Chronic inflammation-responsive hydrogel restores myeloid-T cell crosstalk to reinvigorate antitumor immunity against metastatic colorectal cancer

doi: 10.1016/j.bioactmat.2026.03.012

Figure Lengend Snippet: TRANS inhibits tumor growth and enhances local and systemic immune resp onses. (A) Scheme of GC, GCF, or TRANS preparation (Source material from BioRender). (B) Microstructure of GC and TRANS. (C) Experimental design for administration and immune cell analysis. (D) Tumor growth curves under different treatments; n = 5. (E) Tumor weight post-treatment; n = 5. (F – H) CD45 + leukocytes and CD11c + DCs (F), CD86 + M1 and CD206 + M2 macrophages (G), and Tumor-infiltrating CD8 + T cells (H) within TME; n = 5. (I – L) Mature DCs (I), CD8α + cDC1s (J), CD4 + and CD8 + T cells (K) and CD69 + CD8 + T cells (L) in lymph nodes; n = 5. (M – Q) CD11c + MHC II + DCs (M), CD8α + cDC1s (N), CD4 + and CD8 + T cells (O), CD69 + CD8 + T cells (P), and IFN-γ + CD8 + T cells (Q) in the spleen; n = 5. (R – T) CD8 + T cells (R), The ratio of CD8 + T /CD4 + T cells (S), and IFN-γ levels (T) in blood; n = 5. (U) IFN-γ + CD4 + T and IFN-γ + CD8 + T cells with ex vivo stimulation of PMA/ionomycin for 6 h; n = 3. (V) Apoptosis of CT26 cells co-incubated with splenic T cells for 24 h; n = 3. Data are presented as mean ± SD, ∗ p < 0.05, ∗∗ p < 0.01, ∗∗∗ p < 0.001. Significance was calculated using One-way ANOVA.

Article Snippet: CT26 cells and Raw 264.7 were purchased from the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC; Manassas, VA, USA).

Techniques: Cell Analysis, Ex Vivo, Incubation

Journal: Bioactive Materials

Article Title: Chronic inflammation-responsive hydrogel restores myeloid-T cell crosstalk to reinvigorate antitumor immunity against metastatic colorectal cancer

doi: 10.1016/j.bioactmat.2026.03.012

Figure Lengend Snippet: TRANS inhibits tumor metastasis and induces immune memory in vivo . (A) Experimental design for secondary tumor model. (B and C) Tumor volume curves of primary tumor (B) and secondary tumor (C) during different therapy; n = 5. (D and E) Statistical diagram (D) and flow charts (E) of T cells within secondary tumors; n = 5. (F) Immunofluorescence images of immune cell in primary tumor. (G) Schematic of lung metastasis tumor model and treatment regimen. Mice received subcutaneous and intravenous injections of CT26-Luc. (H – J) In vivo images (H), Primary tumor volume curves (I), and Average radiance in lungs (J) of CT26-Luc tumor-bearing mice; n = 5. (K – M) Lung image (K), Lung metastasis foci counts and weights (L), and H&E staining of lungs (M) from CT26-Luc tumor-bearing mice; n = 5. (N) Schematic of liver metastasis tumor model and treatment regimen. Mice received subcutaneous CT26 tumor and splenic CT26-Luc injections. (O and P) In vivo imaging (O) and Individual radiance in livers (P) of CT26-Luc tumor-bearing mice; n = 10. (Q – S) Live images (Q), Liver weights (R), and H&E staining images of livers (S) from PBS- or TRANS-treated mice; n = 5. (T) Scheme of tumor rechallenge model. (U) Tumor changes in mice rechallenged with CT26 or 4T1; n = 9. (V) Central memory (T CM ) and effector memory (T EM ) gated on CD8 + T cells; n = 5. Data are presented as mean ± SD, ∗ p < 0.05, ∗∗ p < 0.01, ∗∗∗ p < 0.001. Significance was calculated using One-way ANOVA.

Article Snippet: CT26 cells and Raw 264.7 were purchased from the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC; Manassas, VA, USA).

Techniques: In Vivo, Immunofluorescence, Staining, In Vivo Imaging

Journal: Bioactive Materials

Article Title: Cell type-specific response to curvature controls tissue growth dynamics in biomaterial pores

doi: 10.1016/j.bioactmat.2026.02.005

Figure Lengend Snippet: Curvature-controlled orientation of cytoskeletal stress fibers on concave-cylindrical surfaces. (a) Representative confocal microscopy images depicting F-actin (magenta) and nuclei (blue) of fibroblasts, mesenchymal stromal cells, osteoblasts, pre-osteoblasts and endothelial cells seeded on flat surfaces. (b) Brass mold used to fabricate the master GeoChip from which GeoChips for use in cell culture are manufactured via sugar candy molding . Photographs show the topographic surface of the brass mold and the candy mold (Scale bar: 2 mm). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) verified the smoothness of the resulting curved surface (half-cylinder with Ø = 1000 μm, scale bar: 200 μm). (c) Representative confocal microscopy images of cells seeded on concave-cylindrical surfaces with Ø = 100 and 1000 μm. Yellow dashed lines indicate the half-cylinder boundaries. (d-i) Distribution of stress fiber orientation quantified from the F-actin signal of cells on substrates with increasing curvature (average with standard deviation). Cartesian plots include data for fibroblasts (blue), mesenchymal stromal cells (green), osteoblasts (purple), pre-osteoblasts (orange) and endothelial cells (red). The direction 0° - 180° represents the orientation along the cylindrical surface (minimum curvature) and the direction 90° represents the orientation perpendicular to the cylindrical surface (maximum curvature). The substrate curvature experienced in dependency of the orientation is indicated by the red dashed line and red scale. Random orientation is indicated by the black dashed line. Statistical significance via Mann-Whitney test (two sided) with Bonferroni correction, ∗p < 0.05. N ≥ 3 GeoChips/cell type for a total of N ≥ 12 half-cylinders/cell type, 1 donor/cell type. Scale bars 100 μm (unless otherwise stated).

Article Snippet: Murine pre-osteoblasts (MC3T3-E1, CRL-2593TM, ATCC) were cultured in alpha modified minimum essential medium with nucleosides (F 0925, Biochrom AG), supplemented with 10 % v/v FBS, 1 % v/v P/S and 1 % v/v GlutaMAX (35050, Gibco®).

Techniques: Confocal Microscopy, Cell Culture, Electron Microscopy, Standard Deviation, MANN-WHITNEY

Journal: Bioactive Materials

Article Title: Cell type-specific response to curvature controls tissue growth dynamics in biomaterial pores

doi: 10.1016/j.bioactmat.2026.02.005

Figure Lengend Snippet: Incidence of cell spanning on concave-cylindrical surfaces. (a) Lateral view of fibroblasts exposed to cylinders with increasing diameter (decreasing curvature), with spanning cells marked by yellow arrows. (b) Probability of spanning cells in relation to the half-cylinder diameter. (c-e, top to bottom) Representative 3D reconstructed images of fibroblasts, pre-osteoblasts and endothelial cells on concave-cylindrical surfaces with Ø = 100, 200 and 300 μm. Cells were reconstructed in Imaris using the F-actin (magenta, cell surface reconstruction) and nuclei (blue) signal as obtained by confocal microscopy. Half-cylinder contour is indicated by the yellow dashed line. Spanning cells are indicated by yellow arrows in subfigures c-e for clarity. Polar plots on the right depict the percentage of spanning cells and the corresponding angle of cell orientation for fibroblasts (blue), pre-osteoblasts (orange) and endothelial cells (red). The direction 0° - 180° represents the orientation along the cylindrical surface (minimum curvature) and the direction −90° - 90° represents the orientation perpendicular to the cylindrical surface (maximum curvature). (f) Confocal microscopy images of representative cell morphologies for fibroblasts, pre-osteoblasts and endothelial cells depicting F-actin (magenta), nuclei (blue) and focal adhesions via vinculin staining (green). Focal adhesions are indicated by green arrows (example shown on fibroblasts). (g) Cell length quantified as the major axis of an ellipse fitted around the cell. (h) Cell roundness with a value of 1 representing a perfect circle and value of 0 representing a straight line. (i) FSD calculated as the distance between FA clusters (see methods part for detailed description). (j) FA size distribution per cell plotted as the percentage of FAs that fall into the indicated size classes. (k) Representative force vector maps and (l) total cell force quantified via TFM. Statistical significance via Mann-Whitney test (two sided) with Bonferroni correction, ∗p < 0.05. N ≥ 3 GeoChips/cell type for a total of N ≥ 12 half-cylinders/cell type. N ≥ 60 cells/cell type for FA and morphological analysis. 1 donor/cell type. Scale bar 50 μm.

Article Snippet: Murine pre-osteoblasts (MC3T3-E1, CRL-2593TM, ATCC) were cultured in alpha modified minimum essential medium with nucleosides (F 0925, Biochrom AG), supplemented with 10 % v/v FBS, 1 % v/v P/S and 1 % v/v GlutaMAX (35050, Gibco®).

Techniques: Confocal Microscopy, Staining, Plasmid Preparation, MANN-WHITNEY

Journal: Bioactive Materials

Article Title: Cell type-specific response to curvature controls tissue growth dynamics in biomaterial pores

doi: 10.1016/j.bioactmat.2026.02.005

Figure Lengend Snippet: Cell spanning initiates channel closure and subsequent tissue remodeling. (a) Fabrication of full-cylindrical channels with Ø = 250 μm in PDMS substrates by direct molding from a micro-machined brass mold. (b) Degree of channel closure representing the distribution of cells within the channels at the selected points in time during live confocal imaging. A value of 0 indicates that cells are exclusively found at the wall of the channel and a value of 1 indicates cells have completely closed the channel and are homogeneously distributed. (c) Relative degree of alignment of the cell-network within the channels quantified as the maximum value of the orientation distribution for the individual cell types and time points normalized to the highest detected value of all conditions (see also Supplementary Data S2). Higher values indicate a higher degree of alignment along the channel axis. (d-f) Lateral and front view of the PDMS cylindrical channels obtained by live confocal imaging of fibroblasts (blue), pre-osteoblasts (orange) and endothelial cells (red) using CellTracker™ Green ( t = 4, 12, 24 and 48 h after seeding). Open arrows indicate cells spanning perpendicular to the channel axis. Full arrows indicate cells oriented along the direction of the channel axis after channel closure. Channel contour is highlighted by the yellow dashed lines. The surface of the forming tissue is marked by red dashed lines. White dashed lines indicate the z-volume that is shown in the corresponding lateral views. Statistical significance via Mann-Whitney test with Bonferroni correction, ∗p < 0.05. N = 3 cylindrical channels/cell type. 1 donor/cell type. Scale bars 100 μm.

Article Snippet: Murine pre-osteoblasts (MC3T3-E1, CRL-2593TM, ATCC) were cultured in alpha modified minimum essential medium with nucleosides (F 0925, Biochrom AG), supplemented with 10 % v/v FBS, 1 % v/v P/S and 1 % v/v GlutaMAX (35050, Gibco®).

Techniques: Imaging, MANN-WHITNEY

Journal: Bioactive Materials

Article Title: Cell type-specific response to curvature controls tissue growth dynamics in biomaterial pores

doi: 10.1016/j.bioactmat.2026.02.005

Figure Lengend Snippet: Channel closure mechanism can be controlled by substrate curvature using scaffolds with well-defined geometries. (a, left) Schematic representation of the in vitro culture setup with collagen scaffold presenting channels of controlled diameter with Ø ≈ 600 μm, Ø ≈ 350 μm and Ø ≈ 150 μm. Monolayer seeding on one side of the biomaterial facilitates migration of cells from one end of the biomaterial. (a, right) SEM image of the microarchitecture (Scale bar 20 μm) and channels within the biomaterial (Scale bars 100 μm). SEM images correspond to the outermost surface of the scaffold. (b) Comparison of template diameter against resulting channel diameter after cross-linking and sterilization of the biomaterial. (c) Representative images of fibroblasts, pre-osteoblasts and endothelial cells within channels of distinct diameters 7 days after seeding. Cell cytoskeleton (F-actin) is depicted in magenta and nuclei in blue. Yellow arrows indicate the direction (arrow angle) and degree of alignment (vector length) for the corresponding region. Scale bar close-up images: 25 μm. (d, left) Degree of channel closure for the investigated channel diameters and cell types. (d, right) Relative degree of tissue alignment for the different channel diameters and cell types. Tissue alignment ranges from 0 (fully isotropic) to 1 (fully anisotropic, dashed line). Tissue across the channel and relative degree of is calculated in the central 50 % of each channel. Data displayed as average with standard deviation. N = 4 scaffolds/cell type. 1 donor/cell type. Scale bars 200 μm (unless otherwise stated).

Article Snippet: Murine pre-osteoblasts (MC3T3-E1, CRL-2593TM, ATCC) were cultured in alpha modified minimum essential medium with nucleosides (F 0925, Biochrom AG), supplemented with 10 % v/v FBS, 1 % v/v P/S and 1 % v/v GlutaMAX (35050, Gibco®).

Techniques: In Vitro, Migration, Comparison, Plasmid Preparation, Standard Deviation