Journal: Pharmaceuticals
Article Title: Adiponectin Inhibits Oxidative Stress and Tight Junction Protein Loss: Evidence from a Hepatic Encephalopathy Mouse Model and Brain Endothelial Cells
doi: 10.3390/ph19030419
Figure Lengend Snippet: Adiponectin inhibits the secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines, tight junction protein loss, mitochondrial depolarization, and ROS generation. ( A ) Experimental design for bEnd.3 cells. Cells were pretreated with 10 μg/mL adiponectin for 4 h, subsequently exposed to 10 mM ammonia for 24 h. Experimental groups were Control (Ctr), adiponectin alone, ammonia alone, and adiponectin pretreatment plus ammonia; cells were collected for protein and RNA analyses. ( B ) Virtual cell image for all groups. ( C ) Cytokine array of conditioned media from ammonia- and ammonia + adiponectin–treated cells group. Red and blue boxes indicate relatively increased and decreased cytokine signals, respectively. 1: CXCL10, 2:TIMP-1, 3:KC, 4:MCP-1, 5:MIP-2, 6:SDF-1. ( D , E ) immunofluorescence quantification of intensity of tight junction proteins claudin-5 ( D ) and occludin ( E ) in bEnd.3 cells. ( F , G ) Representative immunofluorescence images showing claudin-5 ( F ) (green) and occluding, Scale bar: 50 μm ( G ) (green) with nuclear counterstaining (DAPI, blue) across all groups. Scale bars, 50 μm. ( H ) Representative JC-1 images showing mitochondrial membrane potential (aggregates, red; monomers, green) across all groups. Scale bar: 50 μm ( I ). Representative images of intracellular ROS detected by DCF-DA fluorescence (green) in all groups. Scale bar, 400 μm. ( J ) Mitochondrial membrane potential quantified as the JC-1 aggregate/monomer fluorescence ratio across groups. ( K ) ROS levels were quantified using DCF-DA fluorescence intensity in all groups. Data are presented as mean ± SEM of three independent experiments (n = 3). Statistical significance was assessed using an unpaired two-tailed t -test with Welch’s correction (* p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01). Abbreviations: CXCL10, C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 10; TIMP-1, tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases; KC, keratinocyte-derived chemokine; MCP-1, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1; MIP-2, macrophage inflammatory protein-2; SDF-1, stromal cell-derived factor-1; ctr, control group. No treatment group. A + A, adiponectin pretreated ammonia-exposed bEND.3 cell group; DAPI, 4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (blue color); JC-1 aggregate (red color); JC-1 monomer (green color) DCF-DA, 2′,7′-dichlorofluorescin diacetate; ROS, reactive oxygen species.
Article Snippet: The mouse bEnd.3 cell line was obtained from the American Type Culture Collection bEnd.3 (CRL-2299TM, ATCC, Manassas, VA, USA).
Techniques: Control, Immunofluorescence, Membrane, Fluorescence, Two Tailed Test, Derivative Assay