Fig. 7

Structural and junctional proteins after skin cell NMP treatment. a Study scheme. b Components of the actin cytoskeleton in representative fibroblast-like skin cells. c Representative WES images and quantification of β-actin protein expression. d Skin cells were grown on glass coverslips, incubated with selected NMP, fixed, and subjected to fluorescent labeling of actin stress fibers using FITC- (green) or FlashRed-phalloidin (red, arrowheads showed transient breakdown of cytoskeleton after NMP uptake), respectively, with or without nuclear counterstaining (DAPI, blue). Scale bars are 50 µm. e–f mRNA expression levels of junctional proteins (CLD1, Cx43; e) and epidermal proteins (KRT1/14; f) were quantified after single and repeated NMP exposure by qPCR in skin cells. For qPCR and WES, data were normalized either to GAPDH/RLP13A or Gapdh, respectively, and untreated controls (ctrl). Results were presented as mean + SEM. Statistical analysis was done by unpaired, two-tailed Student’s t test (n > 3) with *p ≤ 0.05, **p ≤ 0.01, and ***p ≤ 0.001