Skip to main content
. 2022 May 18;20:42–52. doi: 10.1016/j.bioactmat.2022.05.013

Fig. 5.

Fig. 5

The effects of macrophage immune microenvironment on the pro-tissue contraction function of fibroblasts. A) Leading terms analysis reveals the contraction terms clustered. B) Reactome enrichment analysis of muscle system process, contractile fiber, and actomyosin. C) MCODE analysis reveals the top 3 highly interconnected modules in the up-regulated genes network of muscle contraction. D) Reactome enrichment analysis of the genes from the RANK 1 module. E) Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) confirms upregulation of smooth muscle contraction event and the heatmap shows the core genes. F) RT–qPCR results show the up-regulation of contraction-related genes of fibroblasts in M2 immune microenvironment. G) Representative immunofluorescence images and semi-quantitative statistical analysis of α-SMA expression of fibroblasts in M2 group. H) Collagen gel assay and semi-quantitative statistical analysis verifies the enhanced contraction ability of fibroblasts in M2 group. I) Correlation analysis between up-regulated cytokines of M2 immune microenvironment and up-regulated contraction-related genes of fibroblast. Data are presented as means ± SD; *p < 0.05.