PXD077881-1

PXD077881 is an original dataset announced via ProteomeXchange.

Title	Animal-free three-dimensional in vitro angiogenesis tool
Description	All metabolically active tissues have a dense vascular network to supply oxygen and nutrients. Angiogenesis, the formation of new blood vessels from existing ones, can be activated by the lack of oxygen in cells, disease, trauma, or tumor growth. Due to its essential role in cell survival, angiogenesis has been extensively studied, and therapeutic control of this process is of growing interest. Simultaneously, research aims to find and standardize non-animal testing methods for future use. However, the establishment of reproducible and physiologically relevant vascular networks in vitro is challenging, particularly due to the widespread use of heterogeneous animal-derived matrices which are not in keeping with goals the with the principles of the 3Rs (Replacement, Reduction, Refinement) in science and research.to reduce the use of animals in research. To address these limitations and support the development of ethical and sustainable in vitro methods, we present a novel animal-free, three-dimensional angiogenesis model based on medical grade plant-derived nanofibrillated cellulose hydrogel (NFCh). The model uses human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and human adipose-derived stromal cells (hASCs) cultured in medium supplemented with human serum and NFCh matrix. First, HUVECs were stimulated with stem cell-conditioned medium and cultured in varying NFCh concentrations (0.125–2.4 %) tuned to identify the optimal matrix stiffness for capillary-like structure formation. HUVECs were then cocultured with adipose-derived stromal cellshASCs in the best-performing hydrogel concentration, followed by imaging and proteomics analysis. We observed formation of capillary-like structures, comparable to the most commonly used animal-derived extracellular matrix (ECM) control. Interestingly cells in lower NFCh concentration (0.125 %) had higher expression of wound healing and angiogenesis-related proteins while higher stiffnesses (1.5 %) had higher ECM-related protein expression. Importantly, vascular network morphology and organization could be adjusted by modifying only NFCh concentration. These findings demonstrate the potential of NFCh as a reproducible, animal-free alternative to conventional angiogenesis matrices with relevance to regenerative therapies, toxicological testing, drug screening, and the development of a 3Rs (Replacement, Reduction, Refinement)-compliant in vitro system.
HostingRepository	PRIDE
AnnounceDate	2026-08-24
AnnouncementXML	Submission_2026-08-23_16:11:17.094.xml
DigitalObjectIdentifier
ReviewLevel	Peer-reviewed dataset
DatasetOrigin	Original dataset
RepositorySupport	Unsupported dataset by repository
PrimarySubmitter	Chris Pridgeon
SpeciesList	scientific name: Homo sapiens (Human); NCBI TaxID: NEWT:9606;
ModificationList	No PTMs are included in the dataset
Instrument	Bruker Daltonics timsTOF series

Revision	Datetime	Status	ChangeLog Entry
0	2026-04-30 09:45:44	ID requested
⏵ 1	2026-08-23 16:11:18	announced

10.3389/ftox.2026.1768268;

Koivunotko E, Pridgeon CS, Paasonen L, Harjum, ä, ki R, angiogenesis models. Front Toxicol, 8():1768268(2026) [pubmed]

submitter keyword: Human, capillary-like formation, in vitro 3D cell model, animal-free, angiogenesis, nanofibrillated cellulose hydrogel, coculture

Riina Harjumaki
contact affiliation	Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
contact email	riina.harjumaki@helsinki.fi
lab head
Chris Pridgeon
contact affiliation	University of Helsinki
contact email	pridgeonc@gmail.com
dataset submitter

Dataset FTP location NOTE: Most web browsers have now discontinued native support for FTP access within the browser window. But you can usually install another FTP app (we recommend FileZilla) and configure your browser to launch the external application when you click on this FTP link. Or otherwise, launch an app that supports FTP (like FileZilla) and use this address: ftp://ftp.pride.ebi.ac.uk/pride/data/archive/2026/08/PXD077881

PRIDE project URI

• PRIDE
  1. PXD077881
     1. Label: PRIDE project
     2. Name: Animal-free three-dimensional in vitro angiogenesis tool