Journal: iScience

Article Title: cJun-assisted loading of RelA DNA-binding promotes synergistic lung epithelial antimicrobial responses

doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2026.115592

Figure Lengend Snippet: Pam2 CSK4 and ODN M362 induce synergistic antiviral protection (A) Immunofluorescent imaging of HBEC3-KT cells 24 h after infection with influenza A virus (MOI = 1). Samples were fluorescently labeled for viral M2 (green) and cell nuclei (magenta). (B) Fluorescence quantification of viral M2 expression in (A). N = 5 individual fields of view per condition. (C) Brightfield imaging of HBEC3-KT cells 8 days after infection with influenza A virus (MOI = 1). Samples were labeled with neutral red to evaluate virus-induced cytotoxicity. (D) Quantification of neutral red uptake in (C). N = 5 replicates per condition. (E) Evaluation of effect-based synergism in (B and D), where E ADD represents the expected additive response of Pam2 and ODN alone, and E AB is the observed response of combined Pam2+ODN exposure. P-values: ∗, p < 0.05, ∗∗, p < 0.01, and ∗∗∗, p < 0.001 compared to PBS; and #, p < 0.05 for interaction effect from a two-way ANOVA. Scale bars in (A and C): 20 μM. Error bars in (B, D, E) represent mean ± SEM. MOI, multiplicity of infection.

Article Snippet: ODN M362 - TLR9 Agonist , InvivoGen , tlrl-m362.

Techniques: Imaging, Infection, Virus, Labeling, Fluorescence, Expressing

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