Journal: Molecular Therapy. Nucleic Acids

Article Title: Hemoglobin inhibits fibroblast-to-cardiomyocyte reprogramming via TLR2/TLR4-dependent chromatin compaction

doi: 10.1016/j.omtn.2026.102900

Figure Lengend Snippet: Hemoglobin mediates gene repression through TLR2 and TLR4 (A and B) A study was conducted to determine the effect of hemoglobin (Hb) on (A) fibroblast-to-cardiomyocyte reprogramming and (B) fibroblast gene expression. With respect to fibroblast-to-cardiomyocyte reprogramming, cardiac fibroblasts were transfected with either miR combo or a non-targeting control miR. 24 h later, the cells were incubated with vehicle, a TLR2 pharmacological inhibitor, a TLR4 pharmacological inhibitor, or a combination of both pharmacological inhibitors for 3 h. After incubation with the indicated pharmacological inhibitors, Hb was added (5 mg/mL) to the media. All media was replaced the next day. Fourteen days after miR transfection, cells were analyzed for expression of the indicated cardiomyocyte specific genes by qPCR. Expression values were normalized to the housekeeping gene Gapdh. N = 6–10. One-sample t tests were used to compare groups to the control group (∗∗∗ p < 0.001, ∗∗ p < 0.01, ∗ p < 0.05; ns, not significant). t test was used to determine the significance between the miR combo groups (## p < 0.01, # p < 0.05; ns, not significant). With respect to fibroblast gene expression, cardiac fibroblasts were incubated with vehicle, a TLR2 pharmacological inhibitor, a TLR4 pharmacological inhibitor, or a combination of both pharmacological inhibitors for 3 h. After incubation with the indicated pharmacological inhibitors, Hb was added (5 mg/mL) to the media. All media was replaced the next day. Expression of the indicated fibroblast-specific genes was determined by qPCR and normalized to the housekeeping gene Gapdh. N = 10. One-sample t tests were used to compare groups to the control group (∗∗∗ p < 0.001, ∗∗ p < 0.01, ∗ p < 0.05; ns, not significant).

Article Snippet: Hb (Millipore Sigma, H2625), TLR2 signaling inhibitor-TL2-C29 (InvivoGen, catalog no. inh-c29), and TLR4 inhibitor-CLI-095 (InvivoGen, catalog no. tlrl-cli95-4) were used.

Techniques: Gene Expression, Transfection, Control, Incubation, Expressing

Journal: Cell Reports Medicine

Article Title: Macrophage-mimetic photothermal nanotherapeutics regulate mitochondrial homeostasis and inflammatory cascades in lung ischemia-reperfusion injury

doi: 10.1016/j.xcrm.2026.102768

Figure Lengend Snippet: Preparation and characterization of Rg3@PACVs (A–C) Characterization of mPDA, Rg3@mPDA, and Rg3@PACVs using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and dynamic light scattering (DLS) for hydrodynamic size distribution and zeta potential analysis (scale bars, 100 nm). (D) Elemental mapping of carbon (C), nitrogen (N), oxygen (O), phosphorus (P), and sulfur (S) in Rg3@PACVs (scale bars, 100 nm). (E) Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) spectra of mPDA, Rg3, Mac-CVs, and Rg3@PACVs. (F) The expression of macrophage-membrane markers including Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2), integrin subunit alpha M (CD11b), C-X-C motif chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4), receptor for advanced glycation end-products (RAGE), interleukin-6 receptor (IL-6R), and tumor necrosis factor receptor 1 (TNFR1) detected by digital western blot analysis. (G) Fluorescence of Dio-labeled Mac-CVs and Dil-labeled Rg3@mPDA after ultrasonic extrusion to form Dio/Dil-labeled Rg3@PACVs (scale bars, 1 μm). (H) Near-infrared (NIR, 808nm) images of Rg3, mPDA, Mac-CVs, and Rg3@PACVs in microcentrifuge tubes. (I and J) Temperature changes of Rg3@PACVs under different laser power intensities (I) and the photothermal effect curves of Rg3@PACVs at various concentrations (J). (K) Photothermal stability of Rg3@PACVs. (L) Size stability of Rg3@PACVs after 1-week storage at 4°C and 37°C.

Article Snippet: The target proteins included CD11b (HA722075, HUABIO, China), CXCR4 ( AWA46731 ,Abiowell, China), TLR2 (52945,Genuin Biotech, China), RAGE (ET1702-27, HUABIO), IL-6R ( AWA43078 , Abiowell), Na + /K + -ATPase (RT1412, HUABIO), PGC-1α ( AWA59146 , Abiowell), MFN2 (CSB-RA139716A0HU, CUSABIO, China), DRP1 ( HA500487 , HUABIO), phosphorylated DRP1 (Ser616) (PSH06-77, HUABIO), PI3K (Genuin Biotech), phosphorylated PI3K (U1011, Genuin Biotech), Akt (ET1609-51, HUABIO), and phosphorylated Akt (ET1607-73, HUABIO) and β-actin (EM21002, HUABIO).

Techniques: Transmission Assay, Electron Microscopy, Zeta Potential Analyzer, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, Spectroscopy, Expressing, Membrane, Western Blot, Fluorescence, Labeling

Journal: Cell Reports Medicine

Article Title: Macrophage-mimetic photothermal nanotherapeutics regulate mitochondrial homeostasis and inflammatory cascades in lung ischemia-reperfusion injury

doi: 10.1016/j.xcrm.2026.102768

Figure Lengend Snippet:

Article Snippet: The target proteins included CD11b (HA722075, HUABIO, China), CXCR4 ( AWA46731 ,Abiowell, China), TLR2 (52945,Genuin Biotech, China), RAGE (ET1702-27, HUABIO), IL-6R ( AWA43078 , Abiowell), Na + /K + -ATPase (RT1412, HUABIO), PGC-1α ( AWA59146 , Abiowell), MFN2 (CSB-RA139716A0HU, CUSABIO, China), DRP1 ( HA500487 , HUABIO), phosphorylated DRP1 (Ser616) (PSH06-77, HUABIO), PI3K (Genuin Biotech), phosphorylated PI3K (U1011, Genuin Biotech), Akt (ET1609-51, HUABIO), and phosphorylated Akt (ET1607-73, HUABIO) and β-actin (EM21002, HUABIO).

Techniques: Recombinant, Purification, Marker, Isolation, Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay, CCK-8 Assay, Apoptosis Assay, Membrane, Fluorescence, Sequencing, Gene Expression, Western Blot, Software, Real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction, Microscopy, Flow Cytometry

Journal: bioRxiv

Article Title: Liver sinusoidal endothelial cells integrate metabolic and immune signals for MAPK-dependent BMP6 regulation and hepcidin induction

doi: 10.64898/2026.05.07.723498

Figure Lengend Snippet: (A) Bmp6 mRNA expression in primary LSECs treated with 5 ng/mL LPS or 2.5 μM heme for 6 h in the presence or absence of hepatocyte-conditioned medium. (B) Bmp6 mRNA expression in primary LSECs treated with various TLR ligands: Pam3CSK4 (TLR1/2), PGN (TLR2), Poly I:C (TLR3), LPS (TLR4), FLA-ST (TLR5), FSL1 (TLR2/6), R848 (TLR7/8), and ODN (TLR9) or vehicle control (NT, non-treated) for 6 h. (C-D) Bmp6 mRNA expression in primary LSECs treated with increasing concentrations of LPS for 6 h or with 5 ng/mL LPS for 2, 4, and 6 h. (E) Bmp6 mRNA expression in LSECs treated with 2.5 μM heme or protoporphyrin IX (PPIX) for 6 h. (F-G) Bmp6 mRNA expression in primary LSECs treated with increasing concentrations of heme for 6 h or treated with 2.5 μM heme for 2, 4, or 6 h. (H) Bmp6 mRNA expression in primary LSECs pre-treated with TAK242 (5 μM) or DMSO for 1 h, followed by 5 ng/mL LPS or 2.5 μM heme treatment for 6 h. (I) Transcription factor activity analysis by RNA-seq of LSECs treated with heme with respect to untreated controls (contrast-wise), in presence of hepatocyte-conditioned medium. (J) Bmp6 mRNA expression in primary LSECs pre-treated with CHX (5 μM) or DMSO for 1 h, followed by 5 ng/mL LPS treatment for 6 h. Cell culture experiments, except those in panel A, were always conducted in the presence of hepatocyte-conditioned medium. Gene expression levels were assessed by RT-qPCR, normalized to the housekeeping gene Rpl19 , and expressed as fold change relative to vehicle-treated controls. The dashed line (ut) represents the mRNA expression of LSECs treated with the conditions shown, in the absence of LPS or heme. Data are obtained from three or four independent experiments and displayed as mean ± SD. Statistical significance: *p<0.05, **p<0.01, ***p<0.001, ****p<0.0001, one-way ANOVA or Student’s t-test. CM, conditioned medium; PPIX, protoporphyrin IX; CHX, cycloheximide.

Article Snippet: The TLR ligands Pam3CSK4 (TLR2:1) (#tlrl-pms), PGN-SA (TLR2) (#tlrl-pgns2), Poly I:C (TLR3) (#tlrl-picw), FLA-ST (TLR5) (#tlrl-stfla), FSL1 (TLR2:TLR6) (tlrl-fsl), R848 (TLR7:8) (#tlrl-r848-1), ODN (TLR9) (#tlrl-1826) and the MAPK inhibitor SP600125 (#tlrl-sp60) were purchased form Invivogen and diluted in PBS (TLR ligands) or DMSO (SP600125).

Techniques: Expressing, Control, Activity Assay, RNA Sequencing, Cell Culture, Gene Expression, Quantitative RT-PCR

Journal: bioRxiv

Article Title: Liver sinusoidal endothelial cells integrate metabolic and immune signals for MAPK-dependent BMP6 regulation and hepcidin induction

doi: 10.64898/2026.05.07.723498

Figure Lengend Snippet: (A) Bmp6 mRNA expression in primary LSECs treated with 5 ng/mL LPS or 2.5 μM heme for 6 h in the presence or absence of hepatocyte-conditioned medium. (B) Bmp6 mRNA expression in primary LSECs treated with various TLR ligands: Pam3CSK4 (TLR1/2), PGN (TLR2), Poly I:C (TLR3), LPS (TLR4), FLA-ST (TLR5), FSL1 (TLR2/6), R848 (TLR7/8), and ODN (TLR9) or vehicle control (NT, non-treated) for 6 h. (C-D) Bmp6 mRNA expression in primary LSECs treated with increasing concentrations of LPS for 6 h or with 5 ng/mL LPS for 2, 4, and 6 h. (E) Bmp6 mRNA expression in LSECs treated with 2.5 μM heme or protoporphyrin IX (PPIX) for 6 h. (F-G) Bmp6 mRNA expression in primary LSECs treated with increasing concentrations of heme for 6 h or treated with 2.5 μM heme for 2, 4, or 6 h. (H) Bmp6 mRNA expression in primary LSECs pre-treated with TAK242 (5 μM) or DMSO for 1 h, followed by 5 ng/mL LPS or 2.5 μM heme treatment for 6 h. (I) Transcription factor activity analysis by RNA-seq of LSECs treated with heme with respect to untreated controls (contrast-wise), in presence of hepatocyte-conditioned medium. (J) Bmp6 mRNA expression in primary LSECs pre-treated with CHX (5 μM) or DMSO for 1 h, followed by 5 ng/mL LPS treatment for 6 h. Cell culture experiments, except those in panel A, were always conducted in the presence of hepatocyte-conditioned medium. Gene expression levels were assessed by RT-qPCR, normalized to the housekeeping gene Rpl19 , and expressed as fold change relative to vehicle-treated controls. The dashed line (ut) represents the mRNA expression of LSECs treated with the conditions shown, in the absence of LPS or heme. Data are obtained from three or four independent experiments and displayed as mean ± SD. Statistical significance: *p<0.05, **p<0.01, ***p<0.001, ****p<0.0001, one-way ANOVA or Student’s t-test. CM, conditioned medium; PPIX, protoporphyrin IX; CHX, cycloheximide.

Article Snippet: The TLR ligands Pam3CSK4 (TLR2:1) (#tlrl-pms), PGN-SA (TLR2) (#tlrl-pgns2), Poly I:C (TLR3) (#tlrl-picw), FLA-ST (TLR5) (#tlrl-stfla), FSL1 (TLR2:TLR6) (tlrl-fsl), R848 (TLR7:8) (#tlrl-r848-1), ODN (TLR9) (#tlrl-1826) and the MAPK inhibitor SP600125 (#tlrl-sp60) were purchased form Invivogen and diluted in PBS (TLR ligands) or DMSO (SP600125).

Techniques: Expressing, Control, Activity Assay, RNA Sequencing, Cell Culture, Gene Expression, Quantitative RT-PCR

Journal: bioRxiv

Article Title: Liver sinusoidal endothelial cells integrate metabolic and immune signals for MAPK-dependent BMP6 regulation and hepcidin induction

doi: 10.64898/2026.05.07.723498

Figure Lengend Snippet: (A) Bmp6 mRNA expression in primary LSECs treated with 5 ng/mL LPS or 2.5 μM heme for 6 h in the presence or absence of hepatocyte-conditioned medium. (B) Bmp6 mRNA expression in primary LSECs treated with various TLR ligands: Pam3CSK4 (TLR1/2), PGN (TLR2), Poly I:C (TLR3), LPS (TLR4), FLA-ST (TLR5), FSL1 (TLR2/6), R848 (TLR7/8), and ODN (TLR9) or vehicle control (NT, non-treated) for 6 h. (C-D) Bmp6 mRNA expression in primary LSECs treated with increasing concentrations of LPS for 6 h or with 5 ng/mL LPS for 2, 4, and 6 h. (E) Bmp6 mRNA expression in LSECs treated with 2.5 μM heme or protoporphyrin IX (PPIX) for 6 h. (F-G) Bmp6 mRNA expression in primary LSECs treated with increasing concentrations of heme for 6 h or treated with 2.5 μM heme for 2, 4, or 6 h. (H) Bmp6 mRNA expression in primary LSECs pre-treated with TAK242 (5 μM) or DMSO for 1 h, followed by 5 ng/mL LPS or 2.5 μM heme treatment for 6 h. (I) Transcription factor activity analysis by RNA-seq of LSECs treated with heme with respect to untreated controls (contrast-wise), in presence of hepatocyte-conditioned medium. (J) Bmp6 mRNA expression in primary LSECs pre-treated with CHX (5 μM) or DMSO for 1 h, followed by 5 ng/mL LPS treatment for 6 h. Cell culture experiments, except those in panel A, were always conducted in the presence of hepatocyte-conditioned medium. Gene expression levels were assessed by RT-qPCR, normalized to the housekeeping gene Rpl19 , and expressed as fold change relative to vehicle-treated controls. The dashed line (ut) represents the mRNA expression of LSECs treated with the conditions shown, in the absence of LPS or heme. Data are obtained from three or four independent experiments and displayed as mean ± SD. Statistical significance: *p<0.05, **p<0.01, ***p<0.001, ****p<0.0001, one-way ANOVA or Student’s t-test. CM, conditioned medium; PPIX, protoporphyrin IX; CHX, cycloheximide.

Article Snippet: The TLR ligands Pam3CSK4 (TLR2:1) (#tlrl-pms), PGN-SA (TLR2) (#tlrl-pgns2), Poly I:C (TLR3) (#tlrl-picw), FLA-ST (TLR5) (#tlrl-stfla), FSL1 (TLR2:TLR6) (tlrl-fsl), R848 (TLR7:8) (#tlrl-r848-1), ODN (TLR9) (#tlrl-1826) and the MAPK inhibitor SP600125 (#tlrl-sp60) were purchased form Invivogen and diluted in PBS (TLR ligands) or DMSO (SP600125).

Techniques: Expressing, Control, Activity Assay, RNA Sequencing, Cell Culture, Gene Expression, Quantitative RT-PCR

Journal: Nature Communications

Article Title: A tissue-intrinsic mechanism sensitizes HIV-1 particles for TLR-triggered innate immune responses

doi: 10.1038/s41467-026-72586-3

Figure Lengend Snippet: a Schematic representation of PRRs and their cognate ligands. PRRs: green, adapter proteins: pink, PAMPs: red, transcription factors: blue. b PRR inhibitor screening. MDMs were challenged with S or DC HIV-1 NL4.3 R5 virions in presence or absence of PRR inhibitors. IL-6 release was measured by ELISA from MDM supernatants. Data is normalized to mock infected condition (gray dotted line). c Measurement of IL-6 release from the supernatants of MDMs challenged with S or DC HIV-1 virions in presence or absence of the indicated inhibitors. d Volcano plot illustrating the differential gene expression between MDMs challenged with DC virus and mock challenged cells for 6 h. The number of down- and upregulated genes are indicated. e Volcano plot as in d. with highlighted gene signatures. Genes induced by TLR2 alone (blue), TLR8 alone (brown), co-regulated (light green) or associated with “Innate Immune Response” genes (red). f Volcano plot illustrating the differential gene expression between MDMs challenged with suspension or collagen primed HIV-1 virus for 6 h. The number of down- and upregulated genes are indicated. g Volcano plot as in f. with highlighted gene signatures. Genes induced by TLR2 alone (blue), TLR8 alone (brown), co-regulated (light green) or associated with Innate Immune Response genes (red). Top deregulated genes belonging to different gene ontology terms are highlighted. h Gene ontology analysis of biological processes repressed or induced in MDMs challenged with collagen primed virions as compared to cells challenged with suspension virus for 6 h. FDR is indicated (only upregulated pathways have a q -value < 0.05). Top deregulated genes for each pathway are highlighted. Results represent the mean ± SD of 3 independent donors. Symbols indicate individual donors ( b , c ) or individual genes ( d–g ). Significance is indicated by p-values, and was calculated by two-tailed paired t-tests or Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed rank test ( b , c ), differential gene expression analysis was performed using DESeq2: genes with adjusted p-value < 0.05 were considered significant ( d–g ), for GSEA analysis, p -values were corrected using Benjamini-Hochberg FDR ( h ). Source data are provided as a file.

Article Snippet: 5 μM of cGAS inhibitor (G140, Invivogen), 8 μM of TLR 1/2 inhibitor (Cu-CPT22, Selleckchem), 49 μM of TLRs 4& 2/6 inhibitor (GIT27, Tocris), 2 μM of TLR4 inhibitor (CLI-095, Invivogen), 100 μM of TLR2 inhibitor (TL2-C29, Invivogen) or 10 μM of TLR8 inhibitor (Cu-CPT9a, Invivogen) were incubated with MDMs 3 h prior to infection.

Techniques: Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay, Infection, Gene Expression, Virus, Suspension, Two Tailed Test

Journal: Nature Communications

Article Title: A tissue-intrinsic mechanism sensitizes HIV-1 particles for TLR-triggered innate immune responses

doi: 10.1038/s41467-026-72586-3

Figure Lengend Snippet: a Representative structure of an HIV-1 Env trimer. Epitopes targeted by different bNAbs or nNAbs as well as sCD4 are highlighted (based upon a prediction of NL4.3 Env trimer structure using AlphaFold 3). b Experimental workflow. HIV-1 NL4.3 R5 Vpr.Int.GFP virions harvested from suspension or collagen cultures were sequentially incubated with primary, epitope-specific anti-gp120 antibodies, then with AF568 coupled secondary antibodies prior to processing for microscopy analysis. c . Representative micrographs of stained virions. Vpr.Int.GFP positive spots (green) can be seen bound by different antibodies or sCD4-PE (red). Scale bar: 0.5 µm. d Spider plot representing the binding frequency of antibody binding to HIV-1 NL4.3 R5 as in (c). e . sTLR2 is retained at the surface of NL4.3 R5 but not NL4.3 ΔEnv virions after collagen priming. One representative Western Blot analysis showing the ratio from HIV-1 NL4.3 virions cultured in S, DC or LC. The TLR2/p24 ratios are indicated below the blots after correction, after subtraction of the TLR2 background signals from the last two lanes. f Quantification of western blot analyses from three independent experiments as in e . g . Representative micrographs. MDMs challenged with HIV1 NL4.3 R5 Vpr.Int.GFP virions after culture in suspension or in DC. Yellow arrows indicate Vpr.Int.GFP/TLR8 colocalization. Scale bar: 5 µm. h Quantification of Virus/TLR8 colocalization from micrographs as in d. Results represent the mean ± SD of three independent experiments. Significance is indicated by p -values, and was calculated by two-tailed paired t-tests ( d , f , h ). Source data are provided as a file.

Article Snippet: 5 μM of cGAS inhibitor (G140, Invivogen), 8 μM of TLR 1/2 inhibitor (Cu-CPT22, Selleckchem), 49 μM of TLRs 4& 2/6 inhibitor (GIT27, Tocris), 2 μM of TLR4 inhibitor (CLI-095, Invivogen), 100 μM of TLR2 inhibitor (TL2-C29, Invivogen) or 10 μM of TLR8 inhibitor (Cu-CPT9a, Invivogen) were incubated with MDMs 3 h prior to infection.

Techniques: Suspension, Incubation, Microscopy, Staining, Binding Assay, Western Blot, Cell Culture, Virus, Two Tailed Test