control primary fibroblasts  (Cell Applications Inc)

Journal: Bioactive Materials

Article Title: Glycosaminoglycan-functionalized hydrogels for sustained delivery of tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-3 mediating matrix metalloprotease inhibition and extracellular matrix stabilization

doi: 10.1016/j.bioactmat.2026.02.010

Figure Lengend Snippet: Biocompatibility of hydrogels. (A-C) Hydrogels were incubated in the respective cell culture media for 72 h, and the obtained extracts were used to assess their effects on the metabolic activity of huMECs (A), vSMCs (B), and NHDFs (C) after 48 h of culture. (D, E) Hydrogel extracts were added to primary human monocytes obtained from five independent donors. The differentiation efficiency of these immune cells into M1 (D) or M2 (E) macrophages was analyzed by flow cytometry using specific markers. (F) Anti-factor Xa activity of HA c and sHA c was determined in comparison with Hep using a chromogenic assay. (A-F) One-way ANOVA: ∗p < 0.05, ∗∗p < 0.01, ∗∗∗p < 0.001. (G) In-vivo assessment of GelMA and GelMA/sHA c hydrogels loaded with TIMP-3. Experimental overview: TIMP-3-loaded GelMA and GelMA/sHA c hydrogels were implanted subcutaneously into BALB/c mice for 14 days. (H) Representative histological images of explanted gels stained for MPO (neutrophils), CD68 (macrophages), CD31 (microvessels), and Sirius red (collagen deposition). The granulation tissue between the muscle tissue and the implant is highlighted by dotted yellow lines. (I-L) Quantification of MPO + and CD68 + cells, CD31 + events, and Sirius red intensity (three ROIs per sample). Statistical analysis was performed using an unpaired t -test with Welch's correction: ∗p < 0.05, ∗∗p < 0.01.

Article Snippet: Normal human dermal fibroblasts (NHDFs) (PromoCell GmbH, Heidelberg, Germany), were cultured in Dulbecco's modified eagle medium (DMEM) with 10 % fetal calf serum (FCS) and 1 % streptomycin and penicillin at 37 °C at 80 % confluency in 175 cm 2 flasks.

Techniques: Incubation, Cell Culture, Activity Assay, Flow Cytometry, Comparison, Chromogenic Assay, In Vivo, Staining

Journal: Bioactive Materials

Article Title: Glycosaminoglycan-functionalized hydrogels for sustained delivery of tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-3 mediating matrix metalloprotease inhibition and extracellular matrix stabilization

doi: 10.1016/j.bioactmat.2026.02.010

Figure Lengend Snippet: TIMP-3 maintains protease inhibitory activity in the presence of sHA c and hydrogels release bioactive TIMP-3. (A-D) Influence of soluble GAGs and hydrogel extracts on TIMP-3-mediated inhibition of protease activity in TNF-α-stimulated NHDFs. (A) Schematic of the experimental design. Inflammation was modeled by stimulating NHDFs with TNF-α, inducing increased protease secretion. Gelatinase/collagenase activity in supernatants was quantified using the EnzChek assay with a fluorogenic gelatin substrate in the presence or absence of soluble TIMP-3, soluble GAGs or hydrogel extracts. (B) Protease activity in the supernatants after TNF-α treatment relative to unstimulated controls. (C) Protease activity of TNF-α-stimulated supernatants incubated with soluble GAGs (HA c , sHA c ) with or without TIMP-3. (D) Protease activity of TNF-α-stimulated supernatants incubated with hydrogel extracts (prepared by 72 h hydrogel incubation in medium) in the absence or presence of TIMP-3. One-way ANOVA: ∗p < 0.05, ∗∗p < 0.01, ∗∗∗p < 0.001. Only significant differences relative to the Ctrl without TIMP-3 or relative to TIMP-3 alone are shown in C/D. (E) The inhibitory potential of TIMP-3 released from the hydrogels was measured using a MMP-9 activity assay. (F) The ratio of bioactive TIMP-3 to the total amount of released TIMP-3 was calculated and expressed as a fold change relative to GelMA hydrogels without GAGs. (G) Collagen-based ECMs were incubated with collagenase (CHC) for 20 or 60 min with TIMP-3 released from the hydrogels after 24 or 168 h. The remaining collagen was detected after Sirius red staining and elution. Two-way ANOVA for A, B: ∗p < 0.05, ∗∗p < 0.01, ∗∗∗p < 0.001. One-way ANOVA for C: ∗p < 0.05. (H) Molecular rationale for the regulatory role of sHA c on TIMP-3-mediated protease inhibition. The MD-refined complex of TIMP-3 (in grey) with HA6_3AC1 (atom-colored brown sticks, color gradient as in D) is shown superimposed with the TIMP-3/ADAM complex (PDB ID 3CKI ). ADAM is shown in green, and the corresponding TIMP-3 structure has been omitted for clarity.

Article Snippet: Normal human dermal fibroblasts (NHDFs) (PromoCell GmbH, Heidelberg, Germany), were cultured in Dulbecco's modified eagle medium (DMEM) with 10 % fetal calf serum (FCS) and 1 % streptomycin and penicillin at 37 °C at 80 % confluency in 175 cm 2 flasks.

Techniques: Activity Assay, Inhibition, Incubation, Staining

Journal: International Journal of Pharmaceutics: X

Article Title: Zein-based polysaccharide-tannic acid films as multifunctional barriers to prevent post-surgical adhesions

doi: 10.1016/j.ijpx.2026.100515

Figure Lengend Snippet: In vitro characterization: A) direct cells contact onto film surfaces and CLSM images after 6 days; indirect cell proliferation after 3 and 6 days towards: B) NHDF; C) Caco-2; D) CLSM images (in blue – nuclei; in green – cytoskeleton). (mean values ± SD; n = 3), ANOVA one-way; Scheffé test (* P value <0.05; ***P value <0.001). (For interpretation of the references to colour in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)

Article Snippet: The in vitro characterization was carried out using normal human dermal fibroblasts (NHDF) from juvenile foreskin (PromoCell, VWR, Milan, Italy) and Human colorectal adenocarcinoma cells (Caco-2).

Techniques: In Vitro

Journal: bioRxiv

Article Title: Phosphorylated ubiquitin is a secondary messenger and an epigenetic mark mediating mitochondria to nucleus signaling

doi: 10.64898/2026.04.24.719390

Figure Lengend Snippet: A - Human fibroblasts were treated with mitochondrial toxins (CCCP, 50µM; valinomycin, 1µM; oligomycin 10µM + antimycin, 4µM) or DMSO for 0, 4, 8 and 24 hrs. Top: Representative immunofluorescence images from 24 hr timepoint showing distribution of pS65Ub (green). Bottom: Quantification shows mean +/- SEM pS65Ub intensity in cytoplasm, nucleus and nucleus:cytoplasm relative to 0 hrs timepoint (separated with vertical dashed line) from 1 experiment with 3 technical repeats. The horizontal line shows the 0hr-normalized baseline. B - Fibroblasts were treated with valinomycin (1µM, 24 hrs) before pS65Ub (green) was visualized by immunofluorescence using multiple specific antibodies. Nuclei (blue) are annotated with green asterisks. C - Confocal Z-stack max projections showing human induced dopaminergic neurons treated with oligomycin + antimycin (OA, 1µM, 24 hrs) and stained for pS65Ub (green), the dopaminergic neuron marker tyrosine hydroxylase (TH; magneta), MAP2 (white) and Hoechst (blue). Dashed boxes indicate areas magnified in pS65Ub channel inset and dashed circles delineate nuclei. D - Wild type (WT) and PINK1 knockout (KO) HeLa cells were treated with CCCP (20µM, 4 hrs) as indicated, then subcellular fractionations were analysed by Western blot. E - HeLa were treated with CCCP (20µM, 4 hrs) or OA (1µM, 24 hrs) before immunoblot analysis of whole-cell lysates using two pS65Ub antibodies. F - HeLa, HEK293T, NCI-H226, murine melanoma, murine PDAC or human skin fibroblast cells were treated with OA, then pS65Ub levels were assessed by Western blot. G - NGN2-induced iPSC-derived neurons were treated with OA (1µM, 6 or 24 hrs) before subcellular fractionation and Western blot analysis. H - HeLa were treated with CCCP (20µM, 4 hrs), rotenone (Rot - 20µM, 20 hrs), paraquat (P3/P6 - 3/6mM, 20 hrs) or CCCP+i (PINK1 inhibitor/PRT062607, 2.5µM, 4 hrs). Quantifications show mean +/-SEM from three independent repeats, *** p<0.0001 (CCCP+i treatment performed twice only so excluded from quantification). I - HeLa cells were treated with 10µM Gamitrinib-TPP (GTPP) for 0, 3 or 20hrs before analysis of whole-cell lysates by Western blot. Red asterisks mark the pS65Ub-histone band. Scale bars 10µm (50µM for panel D). Dashed lines in panels E and F indicate where identical samples were run on separate blots.

Article Snippet: Control primary fibroblasts (#106-05A) were from Cell Applications, Inc., PINK1 (Q456X/Q456X, #sc1028) and Parkin (Ex4-7 del / c.203_204 del AG, #sc1064) mutant fibroblasts are available from the NINDS stem cell repository.

Techniques: Immunofluorescence, Staining, Marker, Knock-Out, Western Blot, Derivative Assay, Fractionation

Journal: bioRxiv

Article Title: Phosphorylated ubiquitin is a secondary messenger and an epigenetic mark mediating mitochondria to nucleus signaling

doi: 10.64898/2026.04.24.719390

Figure Lengend Snippet: A - Schematic depiction of subcellular fraction experiment performed in . Detergent buffers used for fractionation are given in italics. CIB and MIB buffers are from Cell Fractionation Kit (Cell Signaling Technologies, #9038), while HNTE was made in house. B - Cells were treated with OA (1µM, 18 hrs), MG132 (20µM, 4 hrs) or DMSO before subcellular fractionation and Western blotting. Protein subcellular localizations are annotated (IMM = inner mitochondrial membrane, OMM = outer mitochondrial membrane) and arrows indicate both full length and cleaved PINK1 bands. For the pS65Ub blot, identical samples were analyzed on a separate gel (separated by dashed lines). C - PINK1-HA was transiently expressed in HeLa cells before treatment with OA, MG132 or DMSO as before. The distributions of pS65Ub (green), HA (red) and DNA (blue) were assessed by immunofluorescence. Magnified regions of interest are indicated by dashed boxes. Red dashed lines indicate regions captured by intensity profile (performed in the red/HA channel), graphed below. D - WT or PINK1 KO HeLa were transiently transfected with empty vector (EV), PINK1-FKBP (P) or FIS1-FRB (F) in combinations indicated before 18 hrs treatment with OA (1μM) or rapalog (500nM). A dashed line reveals where identical samples were analyzed on a separate gel. E - Schematic depiction of experiments performed in Extended Data Figures 4F, G. F - WT or PINK1 KO HeLa cells were transiently transfected with EV, PINK1 WT, PINK1-NES or PINK1-NLS before treatment with CCCP and Western blot analysis. Two plasmid amounts were used for transfection to achieve high and low relative PINK1 expression, captured by high and low exposures (HiExp/LoExp respectively). G - PINK1-myc tagged with NES/NLS signals were transiently expressed in HeLa cells before treatment with CCCP (20µM, 4 hrs) or MG132 (20µM, 4 hrs). Cells were fixed and stained for myc (green), pS65Ub (blue, grayscale in the far right column) or mitochondrial marker HSP60 (red). Nuclear exclusion (NES) and sequestration (NLS) is observed after MG132 treatment. H - Quantification of nuclear vs cytoplasmic pS65Ub signal density (arbitrary units/µm 2 ) in healthy control, PRKN (left) and PINK1 (right) mutant iPSC-derived dopaminergic neurons after treatment with CCCP (10µM, 6 hrs). The horizontal line shows the signal on DMSO-treatment, considered background due to negligible PINK1 activation/pS65Ub levels. Mean +/- SEM from three independent cell lines per genotype. I - iPSC-derived dopaminergic neurons from PD patients with mutations in PINK1 were treated with CCCP (10µM, 6 hrs). Dashed boxes annotate the area magnified in the inset and dashed circles show nuclear borders. Inset zoom in of pS65Ub channel. See for Control and PRKN mutant conditions. J - Skin fibroblasts from PINK1 / PRKN mutant PD donors and healthy controls were treated with valinomycin (1µM, 8 hours) before Western blot analysis. Maximal Parkin activity (revealed by MFN2 ubiquitination, see band shift) and PINK1 activity (substrate pS65Ubiquitination) is only detected in WT cells treated with valinomycin. K - Fibroblasts were treated with valinomycin (1µM, 0-24 hrs) before fixation and immunofluorescence analysis of pS65Ub (green, grayscale in the left hand column), TOM20 (orange) and DNA (blue). Nuclear:cytoplasmic pS65Ub signal intensity from three experiments was quantified, with mean +/-SEM, 2-way ANOVA shown. Red asterisks identify the pS65Ub-histone band *p<0.05, **p<0.01, ***p<0.001. Scale bars 10µm.

Article Snippet: Control primary fibroblasts (#106-05A) were from Cell Applications, Inc., PINK1 (Q456X/Q456X, #sc1028) and Parkin (Ex4-7 del / c.203_204 del AG, #sc1064) mutant fibroblasts are available from the NINDS stem cell repository.

Techniques: Fractionation, Cell Fractionation, Western Blot, Membrane, Immunofluorescence, Transfection, Plasmid Preparation, Expressing, Staining, Marker, Control, Mutagenesis, Derivative Assay, Activation Assay, Activity Assay, Ubiquitin Proteomics, Electrophoretic Mobility Shift Assay