Fig. 1: Different matrix stiffness facilitates HSC fibrogenesis as revealed by transcriptome profiling. | Communications Biology

Fig. 1: Different matrix stiffness facilitates HSC fibrogenesis as revealed by transcriptome profiling.

From: Increased matrix stiffness promotes fibrogenesis of hepatic stellate cells through AP-1-induced chromatin priming

Fig. 1

a Schematic of cell phenotypic transition process when being isolated and reseeded onto matrices. Created in BioRender. Zhao, W. (2025) https://BioRender.com/722zjib. b The relative expression levels of fibrotic genes in LX-2 cell lines over a period of days. The cells were initially plated on TCP and then isolated and reseeded onto soft and stiff matrices and TCP. Each set of data contains at least two independent replicates. The bolded horizontal lines in each condition indicated the mean values. c An overview of the study design depicting the workflow for cell culture, multi-omics analysis, imaging, and biochemical assays. This figure was created with BioRender.com. d Representative immunofluorescence images of LX-2 cells cultured on different matrices for two or four days. Scale bar, 10 μm. e Heatmaps of RNA-seq datasets for LX-2 cells cultured on different matrices for two days. Genes were grouped according to similar expression patterns, showing 92 significantly upregulated and 327 significantly downregulated genes. Marker genes of fibrogenesis are listed on the right. Two independent experiments were performed for each category. f Heatmap of RNA-seq datasets for LX-2 cells cultured on different matrices for four days. Genes were grouped according to similar expression patterns, showing 406 significantly upregulated and 688 significantly downregulated genes. Marker genes of fibrogenesis are listed on the right. Two independent experiments were performed for each category. g The proportion of core ECM proteins that are upregulated in cells cultured on a stiff matrix for 2 days, relative to the total number of proteins detected. The expression changes of the three categories of core matrix proteins were detected in cells cultured for 2 days on stiff vs. soft matrices. h The proportion of core ECM proteins that are upregulated in cells cultured on a stiff matrix for 4 days, relative to the total number of proteins detected. The expression changes of the three categories of core matrix proteins were detected in cells cultured for 4 days on stiff vs. soft matrices.

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