K284-6111

By lysing cells, releasing RNA, and removing impurities such as proteins and DNA, high-purity RNA products are finally obtained. The commonly used traditional method is the guanidine isothiocyanate/phenol/chloroform method (Trizol), which is suitable for a variety of animal materials including animal tissues, microorganisms, cultured cells, etc., and most plant materials.

Western blotting (WB) is a commonly used experimental method in molecular biology, biochemistry, and immunogenetics for identifying and quantifying target proteins. It combines gel electrophoresis with immunoassay, enabling researchers to analyze protein expression, post-translational modifications, and molecular weight.

The NLRP3 inflammasome is a cytosolic innate immune signaling platform that integrates priming signals and danger-signal activation to promote caspase-1 activation, maturation of IL-1β and IL-18, and gasdermin D-mediated pyroptotic cell death. The core experimental logic is to determine whether inflammatory disease phenotypes are driven by increased NLRP3 expression, ASC-containing inflammasome assembly, caspase-1 cleavage, GSDMD cleavage, and extracellular release of IL-1β/IL-18 rather than by nonspecific cell injury alone. The pathway is strongly linked to inflammation-related disease phenotypes because monosodium urate crystals activate NALP3/NLRP3 inflammasome signaling in gout-like crystal inflammation, cholesterol crystals activate NLRP3 inflammasomes in atherogenesis models, and DSS-induced intestinal inflammation has been reported to involve NLRP3 inflammasome activity. However, experimental colitis studies also show context-dependent protective effects of NLRP3 inflammasome co

PINK1/Parkin-mediated mitophagy pathway is a mitochondrial quality-control signaling axis in which mitochondrial depolarization stabilizes PINK1 on damaged mitochondria, activates Parkin recruitment and E3 ubiquitin ligase activity, promotes ubiquitination of outer mitochondrial membrane proteins, recruits selective autophagy adaptors, and drives lysosomal degradation of damaged mitochondria. In neurological disease research, this pathway is experimentally important because neurons, especially dopaminergic neurons, are highly dependent on mitochondrial integrity, and defective mitochondrial turnover can lead to mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress, impaired neuronal survival, α-synuclein accumulation, and neuroinflammatory damage-associated signals. The genetic disease link is strongest in Parkinson’s disease because mutations in PRKN/parkin cause autosomal recessive juvenile parkinsonism, mutations in PINK1 cause hereditary early-onset Parkinson’s disease, and Drosophila studie

Liver histomorphometry is a quantitative histological approach used to measure structural alterations in hepatic tissue, including parenchymal loss, steatosis, fibrosis, and vascular remodeling, by combining stained tissue section analysis with stereological or computerized image-based measurements. Classical morphometric frameworks quantify volume fractions of liver compartments and fibrotic regions using systematic sampling and image analysis, enabling objective comparison of pathological changes across experimental groups. These approaches are widely applied in liver cirrhosis and fibrosis studies to reduce subjectivity in histological scoring and improve reproducibility of tissue evaluation. Recent methodological advances integrate automated image analysis and radiomics-based extraction of histological features from standard liver stains (e. g. , H&E and fibrotic stains), enabling quantitative correlation between morphometric features and fibrosis stages in non-alcoholic fatty live

Kinase activity assays measure the ability of kinases to transfer phosphate groups from ATP to specific substrates, while phosphorylation assays detect the presence and levels of phosphorylated proteins. Common methods include radiolabeled ATP incorporation (e. g. ,), ADP release detection via bioluminescence (e. g. ,[3]), enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) for phospho-specific epitopes (e. g. ,[6]), and microtiter-based formats for high-throughput screening (e. g. ,[8]). The ADP-Glo assay quantifies kinase activity by measuring ADP produced during phosphorylation using a luciferase-based system. Radiometric assays involve autoradiography or scintillation counting after incorporation of ³²P-labeled ATP into substrate proteins. ELISA-based approaches rely on phospho-specific antibodies to detect activated kinases in cell lysates or purified samples.

Cytoplasmic-nuclear fractionated protein extraction separates soluble cytoplasmic proteins from nuclear-enriched proteins by mild plasma-membrane permeabilization, differential centrifugation, washing of nuclei, and extraction of nuclear proteins for downstream immunoblotting or related molecular analysis. The readout is the relative abundance of a protein in cytoplasmic and nuclear fractions, commonly assessed by western blotting together with compartment markers such as tubulin or pyruvate kinase for cytoplasm and lamin, nucleoporin, hnRNP, H2AX, or Lamin B for nuclear fractions.

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced endotoxemia is a widely used in vivo model of acute systemic inflammation in which LPS, a Gram-negative bacterial endotoxin, activates innate immune signaling primarily through TLR4, leading to rapid and transient induction of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-1β in circulation and tissues. This cytokine surge is commonly used as a measurable readout of systemic inflammatory activation and immune dysregulation, and is typically assessed within hours after intraperitoneal LPS administration in mouse models of endotoxemia. The model captures key features of systemic inflammatory response syndrome, including cytokine release, immune cell activation, and downstream tissue responses, and has been used to evaluate anti-inflammatory interventions such as cytokine modulation, lipid mediators, and immune cell-targeting therapies.

Imiquimod (IMQ)-induced psoriasiform dermatitis is a widely used murine model in which topical application of IMQ, a Toll-like receptor 7 (TLR7) agonist, triggers innate immune activation in the skin and induces a psoriasis-like inflammatory cascade characterized by epidermal hyperplasia, immune cell infiltration, and cytokine production dominated by the IL-23/IL-17 axis. This inflammatory response is mediated through activation of dendritic cells and downstream induction of IL-23, IL-17A, IL-22, and related pro-inflammatory mediators, recapitulating key features of human plaque psoriasis and enabling mechanistic and therapeutic studies. The model is commonly induced using Aldara (5% IMQ cream) applied topically to murine skin, resulting in rapid onset of erythema, scaling, and thickening that can be quantified as disease severity indices and validated histologically.

The TPA (12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate) and croton oil-induced mouse ear edema model is a well-established acute cutaneous inflammation system used to evaluate topical anti-inflammatory activity by measuring edema formation, neutrophil infiltration, vascular permeability, and cytokine-mediated skin responses in vivo. The inflammatory response is triggered by topical application of phorbol esters (TPA) or croton oil constituents, leading to rapid activation of protein kinase C signaling, leukocyte recruitment, and increased vascular permeability, which can be quantified by ear thickness, weight, dye extravasation, and biochemical markers such as myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity and pro-inflammatory mediators in ear tissue homogenates. This model is widely used for screening anti-inflammatory agents, where reductions in edema and inflammatory biomarkers reflect suppression of acute dermal inflammation and immune cell infiltration. Histological evaluation typically confirms epidermal

Contact hypersensitivity (CHS) dermatitis is a T cell-mediated delayed-type (Type IV) immune reaction in which low-molecular-weight haptens applied to the skin bind host proteins to form complete antigens, triggering sensitization followed by a secondary inflammatory response upon re-exposure (elicitation phase), which is commonly quantified by ear swelling as a readout of skin inflammation in murine models. This model is widely used to study allergic contact dermatitis because it is antigen-specific, reproducible, and reflects key immunological events including dendritic cell activation, T cell priming in draining lymph nodes, and effector T cell-driven tissue inflammation. DNFB- and oxazolone-induced CHS models are standard systems for evaluating both acute and chronic T cell-dependent skin inflammation and for testing immunomodulatory interventions.

Kinase activity assays measure transfer of phosphate from ATP to a protein or peptide substrate, generating phosphorylated substrate, ADP, or incorporated radiolabeled phosphate as the readout; phosphorylation assays measure site-specific phosphorylation in cells or tissues as a proxy for kinase-pathway activation, inhibition, or substrate regulation. Phosphorylation can be detected by phospho-specific Western blot, immunoprecipitation kinase assay, phospho-immunofluorescence, phospho-flow cytometry, luminescent ADP detection, radiolabeled ATP incorporation, or reporter-based pathway assays, and these readouts can be applied to cancer cells, primary neurons, mouse tumors, organoids, inflammatory macrophages, ferroptosis studies, and mitophagy studies when the kinase target is biologically relevant.

This protocol evaluates hepatotoxicity using complementary in vivo mouse APAP acute liver injury and in vitro hepatocyte-based cytotoxicity readouts. In vivo APAP injury is assessed by serum ALT/AST, liver histology, hepatic glutathione, protein adducts, necrosis, inflammation, and regeneration-related endpoints. In vitro hepatotoxicity is assessed by loss of viability, leakage of ALT/AST/LDH, oxidative-stress markers, mitochondrial function, nuclear morphology, intracellular calcium, and high-content imaging endpoints.