Journal: Bioactive Materials

Article Title: Microenvironment-educated MSC-EVs loaded injectable smart hydrogel for targeting senescent nucleus pulposus cells and inhibiting ferroptosis against intervertebral disc degeneration

doi: 10.1016/j.bioactmat.2026.02.030

Figure Lengend Snippet: Synthesis and Characterization of ROS-Responsive Hydrogel D-EVs@Gel. (A) Schematic illustration of ROS-responsive smart hydrogel fabrication process (B) Photographs demonstrating the thermosensitive sol-gel transition of D-EVs@Gel ROS formulation. (C) Degradation curve of blank Gel and D-EVs@Gel ROS under collagenase. (D) Confocal microscopy illustrating the spatial distribution of PHK26-labeled EVs (red) within D-EVs@Gel ROS . (E) Representative SEM images of Gel and D-EVs@Gel ROS . (F) Particle Size Distribution Chart for Gel and D-EVs@Gel ROS . (G) Solubility characteristics of Gel and D-EVs@Gel ROS in PBS during a duration of 48 h. (H) Rheological measurements for Gel and D-EVs@Gel ROS hydrogel under alternating high (20 %) and low (0.1 %) shear. (I) Compression test of Gel and D-EVs@Gel ROS . (J) Cumulative release profile of EVs from D-EVs@Gel incubated with PBS containing different H 2 O 2 concentrations or not. (K) Cumulative release profile of EVs from D-EVs@Gel ROS incubated with PBS containing MMP3/MMP13 or not. (L) Live/dead cytofluorograms, and (M) quantitative assessment of the cytotoxicity of Gel and D-EVs@Gel ROS .

Article Snippet: After blocked with 5% non-fat milk for 2 h at room temperature, the membranes were incubated with primary antibodies against GAPDH (1:5000, 104941-AP, Proteintech), TSG101 (1:1000, DF8427, Affinity), CD9 (1:1000, AF5139, Affinity), CD63 (1:2000, 25682-1-AP, Proteintech), Calnexin (1:5000, 10427-2-AP, Proteintech), GM130 (1:20000, 11308-1-AP, Proteintech), CXCR3 (1:5000, 26756-1-AP, Proteintech), CXCL10 (1:2000, 10937-1-AP, Proteintech), MMP3 (1:2000, 17873-1-AP, Proteintech), ADAMTS5 (DF13268, Affinity), P16 (AF5484, Affinity), P21 (10355-1-AP, Proteintech), GPX4 (1:1000, 381958, Zen-bio), SLC7A11 (1:1000, 26864-1-AP, Proteintech), ACSL4 (1:5000, 22401-1-AP, Proteintech) and Tubulin (1:10000, T40103 , Abmart) overnight at 4 °C.

Techniques: Formulation, Confocal Microscopy, Labeling, Solubility, Shear, Incubation

Journal: Non-coding RNA Research

Article Title: Hsa_circ_0101645 contributes to excessive autophagy and apoptosis in intervertebral disc degeneration by acting as a miR-1304-5p sponge modulating BNIP3 expression

doi: 10.1016/j.ncrna.2025.11.007

Figure Lengend Snippet: Hsa_circ_0101645 accelerating the IVDD process in vivo . A: Diagram of the animal procedure for this study. B: Grouping information for this section. C: Representative X-rays of each group of rats. Statistical graph demonstrating the disc height index (DHI) changes for L4/5 in each group of rats (N = 6) (One-way ANOVA test with Tukey's multiple comparisons test). D: HE staining exhibiting pathological changes of CEP, NP, and AP in IVD in each group of rats (N = 6). Scale bar: 500 μm. E: EdU staining was used to detect cell proliferation in IVD tissues of rats (N = 6) (One-way ANOVA test with Tukey's multiple comparisons test). Scale bar: 50 μm. F: TUNEL (white light) staining exhibiting TUNEL-positive cells in IVD tissues of rats (N = 6) (One-way ANOVA test with Tukey's multiple comparisons test). Scale bar: 50 μm. G: The effect of hsa_circ_0101645 on the protein levels of Collagen Ⅱ, Aggrecan, MMP-3 and MMP-13 in IVD was observed by IHC staining (N = 6) (One-way ANOVA test with Tukey's multiple comparisons test). Scale bar: 100 μm. H-I: The expression of hsa_circ_0101645 (H) and miR-1304-5p (I) in each group of IVD tissues (N = 6) (One-way ANOVA test with Tukey's multiple comparisons test). J-K: Changes in expression of apoptosis ( J; Caspase 3, Bcl-2 and Bax) and autophagy markers ( K; LC3B, Beclin and P62) in IVD tissues (N = 3) (One-way ANOVA test with Tukey's multiple comparisons test or Kruskal-Wallis test with Dunn's multiple comparisons test). ∗ indicates P < 0.05.

Article Snippet: Sections were then incubated with primary antibodies against Collagen II (28459-1-AP; 1:200; Proteintech, USA), Aggrecan (13880-1-AP; 1:100; Proteintech), MMP-3 (17873-1-AP; 1:200; Proteintech), and MMP-13 (18165-1-AP; 1:100; Proteintech), followed by the corresponding secondary antibodies.

Techniques: In Vivo, Staining, TUNEL Assay, Immunohistochemistry, Expressing