Journal: iScience

Article Title: Adipose extracellular vesicles carrying miR-210-3p drive macrophage inflammation and nicotine-induced atherosclerosis

doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2026.115151

Figure Lengend Snippet: Nicotine-stimulated visceral adipose-derived EVs promote atherosclerotic plaque progression and preferentially target plaque-resident macrophages (A) Schematic illustration of the experimental design evaluating the effect of visceral adipose–derived EVs on atherosclerosis. ApoE −/− recipient mice were fed an HFD for 8 weeks, followed by 4 weeks of tail vein injection with EVs isolated from the VAT of HFD-fed or HFD+nicotine (HFD+Ni)-treated donor mice. (B) Representative images of aortic sinuses: gross morphology, H&E-stained sections, and oil red O-stained sections (scale bars, 1 mm for gross images; 200 μm for stained sections). (C) Quantification of atherosclerotic plaque parameters in aortic sinuses based on H&E staining ( n = 8) and lipid accumulation based on oil red O staining ( n = 4). (D) Immunohistochemical staining of aortic sinuses for pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, IL-1β, and TNF-α) and the antioxidant enzyme SOD2 (scale bars, 100 μm). (E) Quantification of expression levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines and antioxidant markers in aortic sinuses ( n = 6). (F and G) Confocal fluorescence images showing co-localization of PKH67-labeled EVs (green) with CD68 + macrophages (red, F) and α-SMA + vascular smooth muscle cells (red, G) in atherosclerotic plaques; DAPI (blue) stains cell nuclei (scale bars, 50 μm in F and 100 μm in G). (H) Quantification of PKH67-labeled EVs co-localized with CD68 + macrophages, demonstrating significantly greater uptake of HFD+Ni EVs by plaque-resident macrophages compared with HFD EVs ( n = 6). Values are shown as mean ± SEM. Two-group comparisons were performed using unpaired two-tailed Student’s t tests. Sample sizes (n) indicate biological replicates per group. ∗p < 0.05 , ∗∗p < 0.01 , ∗∗∗p < 0.001 , ∗∗∗∗p < 0.0001.

Article Snippet: α-SMA , Cell Signaling Technology , Cat# 19245; RRID: AB_2734735.

Techniques: Derivative Assay, Injection, Isolation, Staining, Immunohistochemical staining, Expressing, Fluorescence, Labeling, Two Tailed Test

Journal: International Journal of Molecular Medicine

Article Title: Orcinol glucoside ameliorates pulmonary fibrosis by suppressing hyaluronic acid synthesis and macrophage M2 polarization via targeting hyaluronic acid synthase 2

doi: 10.3892/ijmm.2026.5764

Figure Lengend Snippet: OG exerts an anti-pulmonary fibrosis effect by impairing myofibroblast-mediated macrophage M2 polarization. (A) Schematic workflow: Fibroblast treatment with OG during TGF-β1 stimulation, followed by conditioned medium collection and macrophage culture for downstream assays. (B) TGF-β1 release from macrophages measured by ELISA (n=3 for each group). (C) Flow cytometric analysis of CD206 and CD86 expression in macrophages cultured in conditioned medium. The bar graph quantifies the proportion of CD206 + CD86 − cells (M2-like macrophage subpopulation; n=3 for each group). (D) Animal experimental protocol. (E) A BLM-induced mouse model was established to assess the anti-fibrotic effects of OG. Histopathological alterations in lung tissues from different groups were assessed using H&E and Masson's trichrome staining. Scale bars: 500 μ m; magnification, ×40. (F) Western blotting analysis to measure the expression levels of fibrotic markers, COL1A1 and α-SMA, in lung tissues (n=4 for each group). (G) The levels of HA in mouse serum were quantified by ELISA. (H) The levels of TGF-β1 in mouse serum were quantified by ELISA (n=6 for each group). (I) OG concentrations in serum and lung tissues after 14-day oral administration. Left: serum concentrations of OG across treatment groups. Right: lung tissue concentrations of OG, expressed as a percentage of tissue weight (n=3 for each group). * P<0.05, ** P<0.01, *** P<0.001. OG, glucoside; BLM, bleomycin; COL1A1, Collagen type I α 1 chain; α-SMA, α-smooth muscle actin; H&E, hematoxylin and eosin.

Article Snippet: Antibodies for Collagen type I α 1 chain (COL1A1; cat. no. 72026; 1:1,000), Phospho-STAT6 (Tyr641; cat. no. 56554S; 1:1,000) and α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA; cat. no. 19245; 1:1,000) were obtained from Cell Signaling Technology, Inc.

Techniques: Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay, Expressing, Cell Culture, Staining, Western Blot