Journal: Materials Today Bio

Article Title: A microfluidic model of human dental pulp angiogenesis for preclinical drug and biomaterial testing

doi: 10.1016/j.mtbio.2026.102776

Figure Lengend Snippet: Sketch of a tooth injury where the highly vascularized dental pulp is exposed. Angiogenesis in the dental pulp is emulated on a three-channel microfluidic chip where dental pulp stem cells are seeded in fibrin hydrogel in the middle. HUVECs are seeded on the gel interface in the side channel, forming a monolayer that is sprouting into the gel. Here, the model is used for evaluating dentistry-related drugs and biomaterials.

Article Snippet: Red fluorescent protein (RFP) human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) (Angio Proteomie) were cultured to 90 % confluency in endothelial growth medium (Vasculife, Cell systems) in T75 culture flasks precoated with 0.2 % gelatine (Sigma) for 1 h at 37 °C.

Techniques:

Journal: Materials Today Bio

Article Title: A microfluidic model of human dental pulp angiogenesis for preclinical drug and biomaterial testing

doi: 10.1016/j.mtbio.2026.102776

Figure Lengend Snippet: A) Angiogenic sprouts from HUVECs stained with CD31 (red) growing in fibrin hydrogel containing different concentrations of dental pulp stem cells. Scale bars: 200 μm. B). Quantification of total vessel length (μm), vessel area fraction (%), branch point count and segment count for the different dental pulp stem cell concentrations. Each data point represents one chip analysed in four distinct regions. Data presented as mean ± SD (∗p < 0.05, ∗∗p < 0.01, ∗∗∗p < 0.001). (For interpretation of the references to color in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the Web version of this article.)

Article Snippet: Red fluorescent protein (RFP) human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) (Angio Proteomie) were cultured to 90 % confluency in endothelial growth medium (Vasculife, Cell systems) in T75 culture flasks precoated with 0.2 % gelatine (Sigma) for 1 h at 37 °C.

Techniques: Staining

Journal: Materials Today Bio

Article Title: A microfluidic model of human dental pulp angiogenesis for preclinical drug and biomaterial testing

doi: 10.1016/j.mtbio.2026.102776

Figure Lengend Snippet: A) Angiogenic sprouts from HUVECs stained with CD31 (red) growing in hydrogels with different fibrin concentrations. Scale bars: 100 μm. B). Quantification of total vessel length (μm), vessel area fraction (%), branch point count and segment count. Each data point represents one chip analysed for three distinct regions. Data presented as mean ± SD (∗p < 0.05, ∗∗p < 0.01, ∗∗∗p < 0.001, ∗∗∗∗p < 0.0001). (For interpretation of the references to color in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the Web version of this article.)

Article Snippet: Red fluorescent protein (RFP) human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) (Angio Proteomie) were cultured to 90 % confluency in endothelial growth medium (Vasculife, Cell systems) in T75 culture flasks precoated with 0.2 % gelatine (Sigma) for 1 h at 37 °C.

Techniques: Staining

Journal: Materials Today Bio

Article Title: A microfluidic model of human dental pulp angiogenesis for preclinical drug and biomaterial testing

doi: 10.1016/j.mtbio.2026.102776

Figure Lengend Snippet: A) Flow generation driven by hydrostatic pressure from using pipette tips containing different volumes. B) Angiogenic sprouts of HUVECs stained with CD31 (red) growing during static (left), contra-directional (middle) or co-directional flow (right) conditions. Scale bars: 100 μm. C). Quantification of total vessel length (μm), vessel area fraction (%), branch point count and segment count for the different hydrostatic pressures. Each data point represents one chip analysed for four distinct regions. Data presented as mean ± SD (∗p < 0.05, ∗∗p < 0.01, ∗∗∗p < 0.001, ∗∗∗∗p < 0.0001). (For interpretation of the references to color in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the Web version of this article.)

Article Snippet: Red fluorescent protein (RFP) human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) (Angio Proteomie) were cultured to 90 % confluency in endothelial growth medium (Vasculife, Cell systems) in T75 culture flasks precoated with 0.2 % gelatine (Sigma) for 1 h at 37 °C.

Techniques: Transferring, Staining

Journal: Materials Today Bio

Article Title: A microfluidic model of human dental pulp angiogenesis for preclinical drug and biomaterial testing

doi: 10.1016/j.mtbio.2026.102776

Figure Lengend Snippet: Maximum intensity projections of confocal z-stacks of angiogenic sprouts (A–D). A) Cross-section of angiogenic sprouts of HUVECs stained with CD31 (red), collagen IV (green) and dapi (blue). White arrows indicate collagen IV production by dental pulp stem cells. Scale bar: 50 μm. B) and C) angiogenic tip cells stained with CD31 (red), collagen IV (green) and dapi (blue). Scale bar: 40 μm. D) Cross-section of angiogenic sprouts with red fluorescent protein (RFP)-producing HUVECs (red) and dental pulp stem cells stained with vimentin (green). Scale bar: 7 μm. E) Angiogenic sprouts perfused with 1 μm fluorescent beads (green). Scale bar: 100 μm. F) Angiogenic sprouts perfused with 10 μm fluorescent beads (green). Scale bar: 100 μm. (For interpretation of the references to color in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the Web version of this article.)

Article Snippet: Red fluorescent protein (RFP) human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) (Angio Proteomie) were cultured to 90 % confluency in endothelial growth medium (Vasculife, Cell systems) in T75 culture flasks precoated with 0.2 % gelatine (Sigma) for 1 h at 37 °C.

Techniques: Staining

Journal: Materials Today Bio

Article Title: A microfluidic model of human dental pulp angiogenesis for preclinical drug and biomaterial testing

doi: 10.1016/j.mtbio.2026.102776

Figure Lengend Snippet: A) Maximum projections of confocal z-stacks showing growth of angiogenic sprouts from red fluorescent protein (RFP) producing HUVECs (red) monitored live over 3 days. Scale bars: 200 μm. B) Quantification of total vessel length (μm), mean segment length (μm), vessel area fraction (%), mean segment diameter (μm). Each data point represents one chip analysed for four distinct regions. Data presented as mean ± SD (∗p < 0.05, ∗∗p < 0.01, ∗∗∗p < 0.001, ∗∗∗∗p < 0.0001). (For interpretation of the references to color in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the Web version of this article.)

Article Snippet: Red fluorescent protein (RFP) human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) (Angio Proteomie) were cultured to 90 % confluency in endothelial growth medium (Vasculife, Cell systems) in T75 culture flasks precoated with 0.2 % gelatine (Sigma) for 1 h at 37 °C.

Techniques:

Journal: Materials Today Bio

Article Title: A microfluidic model of human dental pulp angiogenesis for preclinical drug and biomaterial testing

doi: 10.1016/j.mtbio.2026.102776

Figure Lengend Snippet: A) Schematic sketch of treatment schedule for day 1. B) Maximum projections of confocal stacks of HUVECs (red, CD31) treated on day 1 and fixed on day 4. Scale bars: 200 μm. C) Quantification of cell death %, LDH release and fold increase in vessel area fraction and vessel length after treatment. Each data point represents one chip analysed for three distinct regions. Data presented as mean ± SD (∗p < 0.05, ∗∗p < 0.01, ∗∗∗p < 0.001, ∗∗∗∗p < 0.0001). (For interpretation of the references to color in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the Web version of this article.)

Article Snippet: Red fluorescent protein (RFP) human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) (Angio Proteomie) were cultured to 90 % confluency in endothelial growth medium (Vasculife, Cell systems) in T75 culture flasks precoated with 0.2 % gelatine (Sigma) for 1 h at 37 °C.

Techniques:

Journal: Materials Today Bio

Article Title: A microfluidic model of human dental pulp angiogenesis for preclinical drug and biomaterial testing

doi: 10.1016/j.mtbio.2026.102776

Figure Lengend Snippet: A) Schematic sketch of treatment schedule for day 3. B) Maximum projections of confocal stacks of HUVECs (red, CD31) treated on day 3 and fixed on day 6. Scale bars: 200 μm. C) Quantification of cell death (in %), LDH release, fold increase in vessel area fraction and vessel length after treatment. Each data point represents one chip analysed for three distinct regions. Data presented as mean ± SD (∗p < 0.05, ∗∗p < 0.01, ∗∗∗p < 0.001, ∗∗∗∗p < 0.0001). (For interpretation of the references to color in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the Web version of this article.)

Article Snippet: Red fluorescent protein (RFP) human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) (Angio Proteomie) were cultured to 90 % confluency in endothelial growth medium (Vasculife, Cell systems) in T75 culture flasks precoated with 0.2 % gelatine (Sigma) for 1 h at 37 °C.

Techniques:

Journal: STAR Protocols

Article Title: Protocol for large-scale, high-yield, high-purity extracellular vesicle purification from human plasma

doi: 10.1016/j.xpro.2026.104428

Figure Lengend Snippet: Fusion assay demonstrating the uptake of EVs from different fractions by cells EV populations were stained with DiI dye, then incubated with hTERT-HUVEC cells for 16 h. Cells were then fixed and DNA was stained with DAPI. Images taken at 20X and 100X magnification. Scale bar=10 μm

Article Snippet: hTERT-HUVEC (Human Telomerase Reverse Transcriptase (hTERT), Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC)) , ATCC , CRL-4053 TM.

Techniques: Single Vesicle Fusion Assay, Staining, Incubation

Journal: iScience

Article Title: Cardiomyocyte-derived HSPB1 regulates TGF-β1 maturation and inhibits endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition in myocardial fibrosis

doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2026.115028

Figure Lengend Snippet: Regulatory role of HSPB1 in endothelial cell EndoMT (A) Western blot shows HSPB1 expression in HUVECs following lentiviral-mediated overexpression (LV-HSPB1) or knockdown (LV-HSPB1-RNAi); β-actin served as a loading control. (B) Quantification of HSPB1/β-actin ratio shows significant differences between groups. (C) Representative images of Transwell migration assays evaluating the effect of HSPB1 on TGF-β1–induced endothelial migration (scale bars, 100 μm). (D) Quantification of migrated cells per field. (E) Representative tube formation images showing the effect of HSPB1 modulation on TGF-β1–induced angiogenic activity (scale bars, 200 μm). (F–H) Quantitative analysis of tube formation parameters, including the number of branches (F), loops (G), and total tube length (H), measured using ImageJ software. Data are presented as mean ± SD ( n ≥ 6). Exact p values are indicated in the graphs. Statistical analyses were performed using one-way ANOVA followed by a Bonferroni post hoc test.

Article Snippet: Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) , ATCC , Primary cells, pooled donors.

Techniques: Western Blot, Expressing, Over Expression, Knockdown, Control, Migration, Activity Assay, Software

Journal: iScience

Article Title: Cardiomyocyte-derived HSPB1 regulates TGF-β1 maturation and inhibits endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition in myocardial fibrosis

doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2026.115028

Figure Lengend Snippet: Effects of HSPB1 on signaling pathways and TGF-β secretion in HUVECs under hypoxic conditions (A and B) HUVECs were transfected with adenoviral vectors for HSPB1 overexpression (OE) or knockdown (KD) and cultured for 48 h before RNA extraction. Gene expression analysis was performed using RNA sequencing. Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) assessed the regulatory roles of HSPB1 in processes such as heart development, angiogenesis, and cell proliferation (A). Further analysis using Hallmark gene sets explored HSPB1 signaling pathway activation (B). (C–G) Following transfection, HUVECs were cultured for 24 h and subjected to hypoxic conditions (3% O 2 ) for 48 h. Western blot analysis of the indicated proteins was performed. (D) pSmad2/3/Smad2/3 ratio, (E) quantification of CD31 protein expression, (F) quantification of E-cadherin expression, (G) quantification of α-SMA expression, and (H) quantification of N-cadherin expression were measured relative to β-actin. (I) TGF-β levels were measured by ELISA in cell supernatants. Data are presented as mean ± SD ( n ≥ 6). Exact p values are indicated in the graphs. Statistical analyses were performed using one-way ANOVA followed by a Bonferroni post hoc test.

Article Snippet: Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) , ATCC , Primary cells, pooled donors.

Techniques: Protein-Protein interactions, Transfection, Over Expression, Knockdown, Cell Culture, RNA Extraction, Gene Expression, RNA Sequencing, Activation Assay, Western Blot, Expressing, Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay