Journal: Bioactive Materials

Article Title: A promising magnesium-related alloy with metabolic reprogramming and antitumor effects in hepatocellular and pancreatic cancer

doi: 10.1016/j.bioactmat.2025.12.039

Figure Lengend Snippet: Metabolomic Analysis Reveals Mg and Al-Mg Induce Metabolic Reprogramming in Hepatocellular and Pancreatic Cancer Cells. (A) Metabolomic profiling of PANC-1, PANC-1-Mg, PANC-1-Al-Mg, Huh7, Huh7-Mg, and Huh7-Al-Mg groups using LC-MS identified 1824 metabolites. (B) PCA illustrating clustering among different cell groups. (C) Heatmap showing differential abundances of characteristic metabolites across cell groups. (D) K-means clustering analysis highlighting metabolic differences among the cell groups. (E) Venn diagram displaying common differential metabolites among treatment groups. (F) Volcano plots of differential metabolites following Mg or Al-Mg treatment. (G) KEGG pathway enrichment analysis of differential metabolites. (H) Enrichment distribution of differential metabolites in Huh7 or PANC-1 cells treated with Mg or Al-Mg. (I) Quantitative analysis of intracellular metabolites including L-glutamine, adenine, uridine, cytidine, and guanine by ELISA with Mg or Al-Mg exposure. (J) Western blot analysis of p21, CDK4, and PCNA expression in PANC-1 cells after Mg or Al-Mg exposure. ∗p < 0.05, ∗∗p < 0.01, ∗∗∗p < 0.001.

Article Snippet: After blocking with 5 % nonfat milk for 1 h at room temperature, membranes were incubated overnight at 4 °C with primary antibodies, including AMPK (1:1000, CST, 2532), p-AMPK (1:1000, CST, 2535), CPT1B (1:1000, Proteintech, 22170-1-AP), CDK4 (1:1000, Proteintech, 11026-1-AP), PCNA (1:1000, Proteintech, 10205-2-AP), p21 (1:1000, Proteintech, 10355-1-AP), GAPDH (1:1000, Proteintech, 60004-1-Ig) followed by HRP-conjugated secondary antibody (1:5000, Proteintech, RGAR001) for 1 h at room temperature.

Techniques: Liquid Chromatography with Mass Spectroscopy, Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay, Western Blot, Expressing

Journal: Neural Regeneration Research

Article Title: Small extracellular vesicles derived from hair follicle neural crest stem cells enhance perineurial cell proliferation and migration via the TGF-β/SMAD/HAS2 pathway

doi: 10.4103/NRR.NRR-D-25-00127

Figure Lengend Snippet: hfNCSC-sEVs are taken up by PCs in vitro and enhance their proliferation and migration. (A) Primary cultures of hfNCSCs were established from male Sprague–Dawley rats. (B) Immunofluorescence staining of the neural crest cell marker p75 (red) and the stem cell marker nestin (green) in hfNCSCs, with 4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) staining indicating the nuclei. (C) Western blot analysis demonstrated the presence of surface markers (cluster of differentiation [CD]9, CD81, and tumor susceptibility gene 101 protein [TSG101]) and the absence of an endoplasmic reticulum marker (calnexin) in hfNCSC-sEVs. (D) Nanoparticle tracking analysis was used to quantify the concentration and size distribution of hfNCSC-sEVs. (E) Transmission electron microscopy was used to visualize the characteristic morphology of hfNCSC-sEVs. (F) Immunofluorescence staining indicated that the third-generation PCs cultured in vitro were positive for claudin-1, zonula occludens 1 (ZO1), and glucose transporter 1 (GLUT1) but negative for S100, with DAPI staining marking the nuclei. (G) The internalization of PKH26-labeled hfNCSC-sEVs (red) by ZO1-positive PCs (green) was visualized using immunofluorescence staining, with DAPI staining to mark the nuclei. (H) The Cell Counting Kit-8 assay was used to evaluate the cell viability of PCs across concentrations of 0, 2 × 10 8 , 5 × 10 8 , and 10 × 10 8 particles/mL hfNCSC-sEVs at 3, 5, and 7 days of in vitro culture ( n = 5 per group). (I) The Transwell assay was used to quantify the number of migrating PCs at 6, 12, and 18 hours post-treatment with the aforementioned concentrations of hfNCSC-sEVs, in in vitro culture ( n = 6 per group). (J) Western blot and (K) statistical analyses revealed the relative protein expression levels of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and vimentin in PCs from the phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) and hfNCSC-sEVs groups on day 5 of in vitro culture (normalized to β-actin, n = 3 per group). Data are expressed as the mean ± SEM. * P < 0.05, ** P < 0.01, *** P < 0.001 (one-way analysis of variance and Tukey’s multiple comparison test for H and I; Student’s t -test for K). The data were from at least three separate and independent studies. CCK-8: Cell counting kit-8; GLUT1: glucose transporter 1; hfNCSCs: hair follicle neural crest stem cells; ns: not significant; PCNA: proliferating cell nuclear antigen; PCs: perineurial cells; sEVs: small extracellular vesicles; ZO1: zonula occludens 1.

Article Snippet: The following primary antibodies were used: rabbit monoclonal anti-proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) antibody (1:2000, Cat# 60097-1-Ig, Proteintech, Wuhan, China), rabbit monoclonal anti-vimentin antibody (1:1000, Cat# 5741, Cell Signaling Technology, Danvers, MA, USA), rabbit polyclonal anti-claudin-1 antibody (1:1000, Cat# 13050-1-AP, Proteintech), rabbit polyclonal anti-zonula occludens 1 (ZO1) antibody (1:10 000, Cat# 21773-1-AP, Proteintech), rabbit polyclonal anti-mothers against decapentaplegic homolog (SMAD)7 antibody (1:500, Cat# WL02975, Wanleibio, Shenyang, China), rabbit polyclonal anti-SMAD2/3 antibody (1:1000, Cat# WL01520, Wanleibio), rabbit polyclonal anti-p-SMAD2/3 antibody (1:500, Cat# WL02305, Wanleibio), rabbit recombinant anti-hyaluronan synthase 2 (HAS2) antibody (1:500, Cat# DF13702, Affinity, Cincinnati, OH, USA), rabbit monoclonal anti-β-actin antibody (1:1000, Cat# 4970, Cell Signaling Technology), and mouse monoclonal anti-β-tubulin antibody (1:5000, Cat# M20005 , Abmart, Shanghai, China).

Techniques: In Vitro, Migration, Immunofluorescence, Staining, Marker, Western Blot, Concentration Assay, Transmission Assay, Electron Microscopy, Cell Culture, Labeling, Cell Counting, Transwell Assay, Expressing, Saline, Comparison, CCK-8 Assay

Journal: Neural Regeneration Research

Article Title: Small extracellular vesicles derived from hair follicle neural crest stem cells enhance perineurial cell proliferation and migration via the TGF-β/SMAD/HAS2 pathway

doi: 10.4103/NRR.NRR-D-25-00127

Figure Lengend Snippet: miR-21-5p in hfNCSC-sEVs augments cell proliferation and migration by enhancing HAS2 expression in PCs. (A, B) Western blot (A) and statistical analyses (B) revealed the relative protein expression levels of HAS2, proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), and vimentin in PCs across the –/–, –/si- Has2 , hfNCSC-sEVs/–, and hfNCSC-sEVs/si- Has2 groups on day 5 of in vitro culture (normalized to β-actin, n = 3 per group). (C, D) The wound healing assay (C) and statistical analysis (D) demonstrated the migration rates of PCs in the aforementioned groups ( n = 3 per group). (E) The Cell Counting Kit-8 assay was used to assess cell viability in PCs across the same groups on day 5 of in vitro culture ( n = 5 per group). (F, G) Western blot (F) and statistical analyses (G) indicated the relative protein expression levels of HAS2, PCNA, and vimentin in PCs treated with phosphate-buffered saline (PBS), hfNCSC-sEVs, or hfNCSC-sEVs + miR-21-5p inhibitor on day 5 of in vitro culture (normalized to β-actin, n = 3 per group). (H–J) Immunofluorescence staining visualized the expression of HAS2 (red) and 5-ethynyl-2′-deoxyuridine (EdU; green) in PCs (H), and statistical analysis revealed the integrated optical density (IOD) of zonula occludens 1 (ZO1; I) and the cell proliferation rates (J) in the PBS, hfNCSC-sEVs, and hfNCSC-sEVs + miR-21-5p inhibitor groups on day 5 of in vitro culture ( n = 3 per group). (K, L) Western blot (K) and statistical analyses (L) showed the relative protein expression levels of HAS2, PCNA, and vimentin in regenerated tissue from the PBS, hfNCSC-sEVs, and hfNCSC-sEVs + miR-21-5p inhibitor groups on day 5 post-operation (normalized to β-tubulin, n = 3 per group). Data are expressed as the mean ± SEM. ** P < 0.01, *** P < 0.001 (one-way analysis of variance and Tukey’s multiple comparison test for B, D, E, G, I, J, and L). The data were from at least three separate and independent studies. CCK-8: Cell counting kit-8; EdU: 5-ethynyl-2′-deoxyuridine; HAS2: hyaluronan synthase 2; hfNCSCs: hair follicle neural crest stem cells; IOD: integrated optical density; PCNA: proliferating cell nuclear antigen; PCs: perineurial cells; sEVs: small extracellular vesicles; ZO1: zonula occludens 1.

Article Snippet: The following primary antibodies were used: rabbit monoclonal anti-proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) antibody (1:2000, Cat# 60097-1-Ig, Proteintech, Wuhan, China), rabbit monoclonal anti-vimentin antibody (1:1000, Cat# 5741, Cell Signaling Technology, Danvers, MA, USA), rabbit polyclonal anti-claudin-1 antibody (1:1000, Cat# 13050-1-AP, Proteintech), rabbit polyclonal anti-zonula occludens 1 (ZO1) antibody (1:10 000, Cat# 21773-1-AP, Proteintech), rabbit polyclonal anti-mothers against decapentaplegic homolog (SMAD)7 antibody (1:500, Cat# WL02975, Wanleibio, Shenyang, China), rabbit polyclonal anti-SMAD2/3 antibody (1:1000, Cat# WL01520, Wanleibio), rabbit polyclonal anti-p-SMAD2/3 antibody (1:500, Cat# WL02305, Wanleibio), rabbit recombinant anti-hyaluronan synthase 2 (HAS2) antibody (1:500, Cat# DF13702, Affinity, Cincinnati, OH, USA), rabbit monoclonal anti-β-actin antibody (1:1000, Cat# 4970, Cell Signaling Technology), and mouse monoclonal anti-β-tubulin antibody (1:5000, Cat# M20005 , Abmart, Shanghai, China).

Techniques: Migration, Expressing, Western Blot, In Vitro, Wound Healing Assay, Cell Counting, Saline, Immunofluorescence, Staining, Comparison, CCK-8 Assay

Journal: Bioactive Materials

Article Title: Bacteria-responsive DNAgel system for targeted delivery of photothermally enhanced MXene/MoS 2 in the treatment of pyogenic osteomyelitis

doi: 10.1016/j.bioactmat.2025.10.023

Figure Lengend Snippet: MXMoS 2 activates Wnt signaling pathways to promote osteogenic differentiation and enhance bone regeneration. (A) GO pathway enrichment analysis of differentially expressed genes between the experimental and control groups. (B) KEGG pathway enrichment analysis of differentially expressed genes between the experimental and control groups. (C) Heatmap of inflammation-related gene expression. (D) GSEA of GO analysis in the experimental and control groups, demonstrating pathways such as osteoblast differentiation, regulation of macrophage activation, cell adhesion, positive regulation of cell migration,cell-cell junction. (E) PPI analyses identifying four distinct gene clusters (modules). (F) Bubble chart showed the various network topology metrics for the 4 modules weighted and quantified to obtain an overall score. (G) GO analysis of the genes in module 2 showed that they are associated with osteoblast differentiation and the Wnt signaling pathway. (H) Box plot of representative Wnt signaling pathway genes significantly upregulated in the MXMoS 2 group. (I) The six genes mentioned above were predicted for their upstream transcription factor regulation. (J) Schematic illustration of the mechanism of MXMoS 2 regulating macrophage polarization. (K) Representative Western blot images of WNT4 and β-Catenin expression in control group (LPS), MXMoS 2 group (LPS + MXMoS 2 ) and MXMoS 2 +siRNA group (LPS + MXMoS 2 +siRNA-WNT4). (L – M) Quantification of WNT4 and β-Catenin protein levels corresponding to (K) . ∗∗p < 0.01, ∗∗∗p < 0.001, and ∗∗∗∗p < 0.0001.

Article Snippet: Primary antibodies for immunocytochemistry and immunofluorescence staining—including ARG1 and iNOS, TRAP, β-Catenin, OCN and WNT4—were obtained from Proteintech (China).

Techniques: Protein-Protein interactions, Control, Gene Expression, Activation Assay, Migration, Western Blot, Expressing