Fig. 2: Crosslinking of GelMA hydrogel dressing modulates Mϕ function. | Nature Communications

Fig. 2: Crosslinking of GelMA hydrogel dressing modulates Mϕ function.

From: Hydrogel crosslinking modulates macrophages, fibroblasts, and their communication, during wound healing

Fig. 2

a UMAP representation of Mϕ cells from lo- or hi-GelMA and Sham wounds were categorized into six subpopulations represented by UMAP, with each cell color-coded by its associated cell cluster. b Table and bar plots showing Mϕ populations of each cluster presented by percentages of total sequenced cells and percentages of specific cell types across treatments. Arrows indicate cell populations of interest that exhibit differential percentages between treatments. Color indicates the enriched treatment: blue (Sham), orange (lo-GelMA), and red (hi-GelMA). c Heatmap showing differentially expressed genes serving as phenotypic markers. d Dot plot of the enriched GO biological processes of highly expressed genes in each subpopulation. Dot size corresponds to the proportion of cells within the group expressing each gene, and dot color correspond to GO enrichment p-value. e Immunohistochemistry of lo- or hi-GelMA and Sham treated wounds at PWD3, 5 and 10, stained for F4/80 (Mϕ marker) and iNOS (inflammatory marker). For full image see Supplementary Fig. 6a. n = 5 (mice). Scale bar: 50 µm. PWD3: p = 0.03; PWD5: p = 0.01; PWD10: p = 0.01 (one-way ANOVA, Tukey’s HSD). f Schematic of in vitro studies. g Immunoblots of cell lysate from BMDM probed for ARG1 (healing) and iNOS (inflammatory) expression, along with quantification across n = 3 (BMDM harvests from individual mice). iNOS: lo/hi: p = 0.02, lo/G: p = 0.004; ARG1: lo/hi: p = 0.04, lo/G: p = 0.04 (one-way ANOVA, Tukey’s HSD). h ELISA of TNF-α and IL-10 secretion from BMDM, with quantification across n = 3 (BMDM harvests from individual mice). TNF-α: LPS/IFN-γ: lo/hi: p = 0.01, lo/G: p = 0.0003, LPS/IL-4/13: lo/G: p = 0.002; IL-10: LPS/IFN-γ: lo/hi: p = 0.0001, lo/G: p = 0.0001, LPS/IL-4/13: lo/G: p = 0.04 (one-way ANOVA, Tukey's HSD). All data presented as mean ± SD. Source data are provided as a Source Data file. Figure 2/panel f Created with BioRender.com released under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/deed.en).

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