Journal: Journal of thrombosis and haemostasis : JTH

Article Title: Shear–cytokine crosstalk is a determinant of SARS-CoV-2 induced endothelial pathophysiology and thrombosis in human vessel-chips

doi: 10.1016/j.jtha.2026.04.034

Figure Lengend Snippet: (A) Conceptual abstract: The vessel-chip provides a versatile platform to model endothelial dysfunction in the context of SARS-CoV-2 infection by incorporating physiological flow, vascular cells, and circulating blood factors. Using this system, we probed the distinct and interactive impacts of flow, inflammatory cytokine IL-6, and viral proteins on endothelial integrity. ( B) Schematic of the microchannel design (vessel-chip) with an inlet, a straight duct 200 μm wide and 75 μm high, and an outlet. ( C) Photograph of a representative vessel-chip used in experiments. ( D) A micrograph of endothelial lining (HAECs) inside the vessel chip stained for Actin (red), VE-cadherin (green), and nuclei (DAPI, blue); scale bar: 200 μm. ( E) Confocal micrograph showing a sectional view of endothelial lumen formed by HAECs in the microchannel. Orthogonal projections (top ‘xy’; front ‘xz’, side ‘yz’) confirm complete HAEC coverage across all four channel walls (red: Actin; green: VE-cadherin; blue: nuclei); scale bar: 50 μm.

Article Snippet: Human aortic endothelial cells (HAECs; Lonza , CC-2535) and human dermal lymphatic endothelial cells (HDLECs; Promocell , C-12216) were cultured in Endothelial Cell Growth Medium MV2 (EGM-2MV; Lonza , CC-3202).

Techniques: Infection, Staining, Confocal

Journal: Journal of thrombosis and haemostasis : JTH

Article Title: Shear–cytokine crosstalk is a determinant of SARS-CoV-2 induced endothelial pathophysiology and thrombosis in human vessel-chips

doi: 10.1016/j.jtha.2026.04.034

Figure Lengend Snippet: (A) (i) Endothelialized vessel-chips lined with three different cell types, HUVECs, HAECs, and HDLECs, were exposed to VSV-ΔG-Spike for 24 hours. (ii) post-treatment analyses included gap area, cell orientation, cell circularity, and VE-cadherin fluorescence intensity as a measure of barrier integrity. (B–D) Characterization of HUVECs, HAECs, and HDLECs, respectively, after spike protein treatment: (i) representative micrographs (white arrows indicate gaps within the monolayer); (ii) quantification of gap area; (iii) VE-cadherin fluorescence intensity (barrier integrity); (iv) cell circularity; (v) cell orientation; and (vi) orientation distribution plotted as polar plots. (E) Relative differences between treated and untreated groups, calculated as (treated – untreated), for each cell type: (i) gap area, (ii) VE-cadherin fluorescence intensity (barrier integrity), (iii) cell circularity, and (iv) cell orientation distribution in polar plots; Concentrations: VSV-ΔG-Spike :10 MOI; scale bar: 50 μm. Statistics: NS: not significant, *p < 0.05, n = 3 devices for all experiments.

Article Snippet: Human aortic endothelial cells (HAECs; Lonza , CC-2535) and human dermal lymphatic endothelial cells (HDLECs; Promocell , C-12216) were cultured in Endothelial Cell Growth Medium MV2 (EGM-2MV; Lonza , CC-3202).

Techniques: Fluorescence

Journal: Journal of thrombosis and haemostasis : JTH

Article Title: Shear–cytokine crosstalk is a determinant of SARS-CoV-2 induced endothelial pathophysiology and thrombosis in human vessel-chips

doi: 10.1016/j.jtha.2026.04.034

Figure Lengend Snippet: (A) Schematic representation and representative micrographs of experimental conditions: (i) control endothelialized vessel without treatment, (ii) VSV-ΔG-Spike alone in the absence of flow and/or IL-6, (iii) VSV-ΔG-Spike with flow, (iv) VSV-ΔG-Spike with IL-6, and (v) VSV-ΔG-Spike with IL-6 under flow. (B) Micrographs of endothelialized vessels infected with VSV-ΔG-Spike carrying an enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP) reporter, visualized to assess viral replication in each condition. (C) Micrographs of whole blood, with platelets (red) and fibrin (green), perfused through endothelialized channels subjected to each treatment condition. (D) Quantitative analyses: (i) GFP fluorescence indicating VSV-ΔG-Spike replication across conditions, (ii) fibrin coverage, and (iii) platelet coverage after blood perfusion under the specified treatment groups; Concentrations: VSV-ΔG-Spike :10 MOI; scale bar: 200 μm. Statistics: NS: not significant, *p < 0.05, n = 3 devices for all experiments.

Article Snippet: Human aortic endothelial cells (HAECs; Lonza , CC-2535) and human dermal lymphatic endothelial cells (HDLECs; Promocell , C-12216) were cultured in Endothelial Cell Growth Medium MV2 (EGM-2MV; Lonza , CC-3202).

Techniques: Control, Infection, Fluorescence

Journal: Journal of thrombosis and haemostasis : JTH

Article Title: Shear–cytokine crosstalk is a determinant of SARS-CoV-2 induced endothelial pathophysiology and thrombosis in human vessel-chips

doi: 10.1016/j.jtha.2026.04.034

Figure Lengend Snippet: (A) Schematic representation and micrographs of experimental conditions: (i) VSV-ΔG-Spike treated (ii) SARS-CoV-2 treated; white arrows indicate gaps within the monolayer (B) Quantitative analysis of (i) gap area, (ii) VE-cadherin fluorescence intensity (barrier integrity), (iii) cell circularity, (iv) cell orientation, and (v) cell orientation distribution in polar plots; scale bar: 50 μm (C) (i) Endothelial activation quantified by measuring ICAM-1 fluorescence intensity and expressing values as percent change relative to untreated control. (ii) Micrographs of endothelialized vessels immunostained for ICAM-1 under untreated condition and following VSV-ΔG-Spike or SARS-CoV-2 exposure; scale bar: 200 μm (D) Quantitative analyses: (i) GFP fluorescence indicating VSV-ΔG-Spike and SARS-CoV-2 replication across conditions (ii) Micrographs of endothelialized vessels infected with VSV-ΔG-Spike and SARS-CoV-2 carrying an enhanced green fluorescent protein (GFP) reporter, visualized to assess viral replication in each condition; Concentrations: VSV-ΔG-Spike and SARS-CoV-2 :10 MOI; scale bar: 200 μm. Statistics: NS: not significant, *p < 0.05, n = 3 devices for all experiments.

Article Snippet: Human aortic endothelial cells (HAECs; Lonza , CC-2535) and human dermal lymphatic endothelial cells (HDLECs; Promocell , C-12216) were cultured in Endothelial Cell Growth Medium MV2 (EGM-2MV; Lonza , CC-3202).

Techniques: Comparison, Analysis, Fluorescence, Activation Assay, Expressing, Control, Infection

Journal: bioRxiv

Article Title: Lymphatic Endothelial Cells Regulate Neutrophil Phenotypes and Function in a Microphysiological Model of Infection

doi: 10.64898/2026.03.24.714048

Figure Lengend Snippet: (A) PDMS devices fabricated from soft lithography molds assembled onto MatTek glass-bottom culture dishes with integrated removable PDMS rods, and resultant lumen channels following rod removal after collagen polymerization. (B) Schematic showing the lumen seeding arrangement with one lumen seeded with human dermal lymphatic endothelial cells (HdLECs, yellow) to form a biomimetic lymphatic vessel and the adjacent lumen loaded with neutrophils (purple). pHrodo-conjugated bacterial bioparticles (green) are embedded within the surrounding collagen matrix. (C) Representative fluorescence image of a biomimetic lymphatic vessel formed within the collagen matrix.

Article Snippet: Adult primary human dermal lymphatic endothelial cells (HdLECs) were purchased from PromoCell (C-12217).

Techniques: Fluorescence