Liu Q, Ge W, Wang T, Lan J, Martínez‐Jarquín S, Wolfrum C, Stoffel M, Zenobi R. High-Throughput Single-Cell Mass Spectrometry Reveals Abnormal Lipid Metabolism in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma.
Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2021;
60:24534-24542. [PMID:
34505339 PMCID:
PMC8597026 DOI:
10.1002/anie.202107223]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2021] [Revised: 08/17/2021] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
Even populations of clonal cells are heterogeneous, which requires high-throughput analysis methods with single-cell sensitivity. Here, we propose a rapid, label-free single-cell analytical method based on active capillary dielectric barrier discharge ionization mass spectrometry, which can analyze multiple metabolites in single cells at a rate of 38 cells/minute. Multiple cell types (HEK-293T, PANC-1, CFPAC-1, H6c7, HeLa and iBAs) were discriminated successfully. We found evidence for abnormal lipid metabolism in pancreatic cancer cells. We also analyzed gene expression in a cancer genome atlas dataset and found that the mRNA level of a critical enzyme of lipid synthesis (ATP citrate lyase, ACLY) was upregulated in human pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Moreover, both an ACLY chemical inhibitor and a siRNA approach targeting ACLY could suppress the viability of PDAC cells. A significant reduction in lipid content in treated cells indicates that ACLY could be a potential target for treating pancreatic cancer.
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