Journal: bioRxiv
Article Title: Fibroblasts neurotrophin signaling sustains pathological vascular maturation in rheumatoid arthritis
doi: 10.64898/2026.03.12.711120
Figure Lengend Snippet: (A-C) Bar plots showing differential regulation of pericyte markers (RGS5, ABCC9), VSMC markers (CNN1, MYH11), and pan-mural cell markers (ACTA2, SMTN, TAGLN) in fibroblasts treated with (A) NGF, (B) BDNF, or (C) NT3 compared with untreated fibroblasts. Bar heights represent log₂ fold change, and bar color indicates the corresponding P values. (D) Schematic of the collagen gel contraction assay in which synovial fibroblasts were embedded in collagen I gels and treatment (E) Representative images of collagen I gel contraction following treatment with NGF, BDNF, or NT3 (F) Quantification of collagen I gel contraction expressed as percent contraction. Values represent mean ± standard deviation (SD). Individual data points indicate biological replicates. Statistical analysis was performed using one-way ANOVA, with P values shown. (G) Schematic illustrating the synovial organoid/explant experimental design. (H) Representative H&E image of synovial explant culture after 3 days of culture. (I) Whole-mount immunoluorescence images showing preservation of endothelial cells after 3 days in culture, marked by CD31 (magenta), and vascular smooth muscle cells marked by MYH11, surrounding CD31 vascular structures. (J) Whole-mount staining showing expression of neurotrophin receptors NGFR, NTRK1, NTRK2, and NTRK3 (green) around vascularature, together with CD31 (magenta) and DAPI (blue). (K) Synovial organoids embedded in Matrigel and treated with NGF, BDNF, or NT3, followed by fixation and staining for a-smooth muscle actin (aSMA) (brown) to visualize mural cells. All 20X images were cropped at similar scale. Scale bar, 150 µm.
Article Snippet: For neurotrophin (NT) stimulation, recombinant NGF (256-GF, R&D Systems), BDNF (11166-BD, R&D Systems), and NT3 (267-N3-005, R&D Systems) were reconstituted in DMSO or PBS and diluted in media.
Techniques: Collagen Gel Contraction Assay, Standard Deviation, Preserving, Staining, Expressing