Journal: bioRxiv
Article Title: Liver Lymphatic Dysfunction as a Driver of Fibrosis and Cirrhosis Progression
doi: 10.1101/2025.01.11.632552
Figure Lengend Snippet: (A) TGF-β1 expression in livers from sham (n=6), 1-week(n=6), 2-week(n=5), and 4-week(n=7) BDL mice. (B) Representative immunofluorescence (IF) images of phospho-SMAD2 (green), LYVE1 (a LV marker; red) and DAPI in sham and 4-week BDL mouse livers. The arrows indicate Phospho-SMAD2-positive nuclei with DAPI in LYVE 1 positive lymphatic endothelial cells (LyECs). (right graph) Phospho-SMAD2-positive LVs number in livers from sham(n=5), 1-week(n=5), 2-week(n=5), and 4-week(n=7) BDL mice. (C) Representative IF images of phospho-SMAD2 (green), PDPN (red) with DAPI in healthy control livers(n=8) and PSC patients further classified into compensated cirrhosis (CC, n=7) and decompensated cirrhosis (DC, n=6). Quantification of phospho-SMAD2-positive LVs numbers in livers from healthy control (n=8) and PSC patients (CC vs. DC)(right panel). (D) A correlation between phospho-SMAD2-positive LV number and total LV number in PSC livers (n=13). (E) Representative images of tube formation assay to assess lymphangiogenesis and their quantification (F). Human primary liver LyECs incubated with or without VEGF-C (100ng/ml), hTGF-β1 (1ng/ml) and TGFβ inhibitor (LY364947) for 4 hours. Five images were taken per well and analyzed by the angiogenesis analyzer macro of ImageJ software. Representative data from three independent experiments are shown. (G) BrdU cell proliferation assay in human primary liver LyECs incubated with or without VEGF-C (100 ng/mL), hTGF-β1 (1ng/ml) and TGF-β inhibitor (LY364947) for 4 hours. Representative data from three independent experiments are shown. (H) Schematic of TGF-β inhibitor injection in mice. DMSO (control) or TGF-β inhibitor (LY364947, 0.02mg/mouse) was injected subcutaneously 2 weeks after BDL surgery followed by four more injections with a three-day interval between each administration until 4 weeks. (I) Representative immunofluorescence (IF) images and quantification (J, K) of LVs in livers from 4-week BDL mice treated with control-DMSO (n=8) or TGF-β inhibitor (n=8). LYVE-1 (a LV marker; red) and DAPI (blue). *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, and ***P < 0.001. Scale bars: 100 μm.
Article Snippet: TGF-β treatment Human liver LyECs were purchased from Angio-Proteomie (Cat# cAP-0038, Lot# 201512302, Angio-Proteomie, Boston, MA), and sub-cultured with ENDO-Growth medium (Cat# cAP-05, Angio-Proteomie) on cell culture dish coated with Quick Coating Solution (Cat# cAP-01, Angio-Proteomie), cultured at 37°C, 5% CO 2 in a humidified incubator.
Techniques: Expressing, Immunofluorescence, Marker, Control, Tube Formation Assay, Incubation, Software, BrdU Cell Proliferation Assay, Injection