Journal: Frontiers in Pharmacology

Article Title: Berberine suppresses mechanical stretch-induced apoptosis and proliferation in vascular smooth muscle cells via ROS/PDI/Drp1 signaling pathway

doi: 10.3389/fphar.2026.1921727

Figure Lengend Snippet: BBR inhibited SS-induced proliferation and apoptosis in VSMCs. (A–C) Immunofluorescence co-staining shows that BBR attenuates VSMCs proliferation and apoptosis induced by SS. Yellow arrows indicate apoptotic signaling in VSMCs with high F-actin expression, whereas blue arrows indicate proliferative signaling in VSMCs with low F-actin expression. BBR, berberine; TEMPO, MitoTEMPO (mitochondrial ROS scavenger). * p < 0.05; ns, not significant. Scale bar = 100 μm.

Article Snippet: Fluorescent probes and dyes: F-actin (Cytoskeleton, CY-SC001), DCFH-DA (Solarbio, D6470), MitoSOX (ThermoFisher, M36008 ), JC-1 (Cayman, 10009172-100T), DAPI (Sigma), Hoechst 33,342 (Beyotime, C1028).

Techniques: Immunofluorescence, Staining, Expressing

Journal: Frontiers in Pharmacology

Article Title: Berberine suppresses mechanical stretch-induced apoptosis and proliferation in vascular smooth muscle cells via ROS/PDI/Drp1 signaling pathway

doi: 10.3389/fphar.2026.1921727

Figure Lengend Snippet: BBR inhibited SS-induced mitochondrial dysfunction in VSMCs. (A–C) Stretch stress (SS) increases total and mitochondrial ROS levels in VSMCs. Cells with high F-actin expression show elevated ROS production, whereas cells with low F-actin expression show comparatively lower ROS levels. BBR reduces SS-induced ROS generation. Yellow arrows indicate high ROS levels in VSMCs with overexpression of F-actin, while blue arrows indicate lower ROS levels in VSMCs with reduced F-actin expression. (D,E) SS induces differential depolarization of the mitochondrial membrane potential in VSMCs depending on F-actin expression levels. VSMCs with high F-actin expression show more mitochondrial depolarization, whereas those with low F-actin expression show reduced depolarization. Yellow arrows indicate high levels of mitochondrial membrane depolarization, while blue arrows indicate lower levels. BBR, berberine; TEMPO, MitoTEMPO (mitochondrial ROS scavenger). * p < 0.05; ns, not significant. Scale bar = 100 μm.

Article Snippet: Fluorescent probes and dyes: F-actin (Cytoskeleton, CY-SC001), DCFH-DA (Solarbio, D6470), MitoSOX (ThermoFisher, M36008 ), JC-1 (Cayman, 10009172-100T), DAPI (Sigma), Hoechst 33,342 (Beyotime, C1028).

Techniques: Expressing, Over Expression, Membrane

Journal: Frontiers in Pharmacology

Article Title: Berberine suppresses mechanical stretch-induced apoptosis and proliferation in vascular smooth muscle cells via ROS/PDI/Drp1 signaling pathway

doi: 10.3389/fphar.2026.1921727

Figure Lengend Snippet: BBR inhibited SS-induced co-expression of PDI and Drp1 in VSMCs. (A–C) BBR inhibits the activation of ox-PDI and phosphorylation of Drp1; (D–F) BBR reduces SS-induced expression of PDI and Drp1; (G–H) Immunofluorescence shows co-localization of PDI and Drp1 with F-actin. Yellow arrows indicate high PDI/Drp1 expression in VSMCs with high F-actin, while blue arrows indicate low expression in VSMCs with low F-actin. BBR, Berberine; TEMPO, Mito TEMPO, mitochondrial ROS scavenger; Go6976, PKCα inhibitor; *, p < 0.05, ns, not significant, p > 0.05. Scale bar = 100 µm.

Article Snippet: Fluorescent probes and dyes: F-actin (Cytoskeleton, CY-SC001), DCFH-DA (Solarbio, D6470), MitoSOX (ThermoFisher, M36008 ), JC-1 (Cayman, 10009172-100T), DAPI (Sigma), Hoechst 33,342 (Beyotime, C1028).

Techniques: Expressing, Activation Assay, Phospho-proteomics, Immunofluorescence