Fig. 5: P. falciparum iRBC-egress induces activation of the JAK-STAT pathway in all the BBB cells and induces changes in vessel architecture. | Nature Communications

Fig. 5: P. falciparum iRBC-egress induces activation of the JAK-STAT pathway in all the BBB cells and induces changes in vessel architecture.

From: Plasmodium falciparum egress disrupts endothelial junctions and activates JAK-STAT signaling in a microvascular 3D blood-brain barrier model

Fig. 5

a Representative confocal imaging showing maximum z-projection of STAT1 labeling (green) in 3D-BBB microvessels after 24 h incubation with iRBC-egress media or control media. Asterisks indicate STAT1-positive astrocytes and pericytes in the collagen hydrogel. Endothelial junctions were labeled with VE-cadherin (magenta) and nuclei with DAPI (blue). Scale bar = 50 μm. b Representative maximum z-projection of confocal images showing STAT1 protein localization (green) in endothelial monolayers after 24 h incubation with iRBC-egress media or media control. Scale bar = 50 μm. c Mean fluorescence intensity of STAT1 labeling in the nuclei of endothelial cells grown on monolayers (N = 6 wells/condition) after 24 h incubation with iRBC-egress media or media control (Two-tailed Mann-Whitney U test). Box plots display the median (line), IQR (box), and range (whiskers). d Representative confocal imaging showing maximum z-projection of 3D-BBB microvessels after 24 h incubation with iRBC-egress media. GFP-expressing astrocytes (green) and αSMA-labeled pericytes (magenta), asterisks represent gaps between endothelial cells, stained with VE-cadherin (white). Scale bar = 50 μm. Representative images (a and d) are from at least 3 independent experiments with similar results. Source data are provided as a Source Data file.

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