1
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Fetse J, Olawode EO, Deb S. Personalized Medicine Approach to Proteomics and Metabolomics of Cytochrome P450 Enzymes: A Narrative Review. Eur J Drug Metab Pharmacokinet 2024:10.1007/s13318-024-00912-5. [PMID: 39269556 DOI: 10.1007/s13318-024-00912-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/07/2024] [Indexed: 09/15/2024]
Abstract
Cytochrome P450 enzymes (CYPs) represent a diverse family of heme-thiolate proteins involved in the metabolism of a wide range of endogenous compounds and xenobiotics. In recent years, proteomics and metabolomics have been used to obtain a comprehensive insight into the role of CYPs in health and disease aspects. The objective of the present work is to better understand the status of proteomics and metabolomics in CYP research in optimizing therapeutics and patient safety from a personalized medicine approach. The literature used in this narrative review was procured by electronic search of PubMed, Medline, Embase, and Google Scholar databases. The following keywords were used in combination to identify related literature: "proteomics," "metabolomics," "cytochrome P450," "drug metabolism," "disease conditions," "proteome," "liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry," "integration," "metabolites," "pathological conditions." We reviewed studies that utilized proteomics and metabolomics approaches to explore the multifaceted roles of CYPs in identifying disease markers and determining the contribution of CYP enzymes in developing treatment strategies. The applications of various cutting-edge analytical techniques, including liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, nuclear magnetic resonance, and bioinformatics analyses in CYP proteomics and metabolomics studies, have been highlighted. The identification of CYP enzymes through metabolomics and/or proteomics in various disease conditions provides key information in the diagnostic and therapeutic landscape. Leveraging both proteomics and metabolomics presents a powerful approach for an exhaustive exploration of the multifaceted roles played by CYP enzymes in personalized medicine. Proteomics and metabolomics have enabled researchers to unravel the complex connection between CYP enzymes and metabolic markers associated with specific diseases. As technology and methodologies evolve, an integrated approach promises to further elucidate the role of CYPs in human health and disease, potentially ushering in a new era of personalized medicine.
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Affiliation(s)
- John Fetse
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Larkin University, Miami, FL, 33169, USA
| | - Emmanuel Oladayo Olawode
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Larkin University, Miami, FL, 33169, USA
| | - Subrata Deb
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Larkin University, Miami, FL, 33169, USA.
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2
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Zhang Y, Naguro I, Ryuno H, Herr AE. ContactBlot: Microfluidic Control and Measurement of the Cell-Cell Contact State to Assess Contact-Inhibited ERK Signaling. Anal Chem 2024. [PMID: 39254112 DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.4c02936] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/11/2024]
Abstract
Extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) signaling is essential to regulated cell behaviors, including cell proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis. The influence of cell-cell contacts on ERK signaling is central to epithelial cells, yet few studies have sought to understand the same in cancer cells, particularly with single-cell resolution. To acquire same-cell measurements of both phenotypic (cell-contact state) and targeted-protein (ERK phosphorylation) profiles, we prepend high-content, whole-cell imaging prior to end-point cellular-resolution Western blot analyses for each of hundreds of individual HeLa cancer cells cultured on that same chip, which we call contactBlot. By indexing the phosphorylation level of ERK in each cell or cell cluster to the imaged cell-contact state, we compare the ERK signaling between isolated and in-contact cells. We observe attenuated (∼2×) ERK signaling in HeLa cells that are in-contact versus isolated. Attenuation is sustained when the HeLa cells are challenged with hyperosmotic stress. Our findings show the impact of cell-cell contacts on ERK activation with isolated and in-contact cells while introducing a multi-omics tool for control and scrutiny of cell-cell interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yizhe Zhang
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California-Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
| | - Isao Naguro
- Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
- Faculty of Pharmacy Juntendo University, Urayasu, Chiba 279-0013, Japan
| | - Hiroki Ryuno
- Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
| | - Amy E Herr
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California-Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
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3
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Li M, Zuo J, Yang K, Wang P, Zhou S. Proteomics mining of cancer hallmarks on a single-cell resolution. MASS SPECTROMETRY REVIEWS 2024; 43:1019-1040. [PMID: 37051664 DOI: 10.1002/mas.21842] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2022] [Revised: 11/25/2022] [Accepted: 03/15/2023] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
Dysregulated proteome is an essential contributor in carcinogenesis. Protein fluctuations fuel the progression of malignant transformation, such as uncontrolled proliferation, metastasis, and chemo/radiotherapy resistance, which severely impair therapeutic effectiveness and cause disease recurrence and eventually mortality among cancer patients. Cellular heterogeneity is widely observed in cancer and numerous cell subtypes have been characterized that greatly influence cancer progression. Population-averaged research may not fully reveal the heterogeneity, leading to inaccurate conclusions. Thus, deep mining of the multiplex proteome at the single-cell resolution will provide new insights into cancer biology, to develop prognostic biomarkers and treatments. Considering the recent advances in single-cell proteomics, herein we review several novel technologies with particular focus on single-cell mass spectrometry analysis, and summarize their advantages and practical applications in the diagnosis and treatment for cancer. Technological development in single-cell proteomics will bring a paradigm shift in cancer detection, intervention, and therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maomao Li
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children of MOE and State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University and Collaborative Innovation Center, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Jing Zuo
- State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Cancer Center, West China Hospital, and West China School of Basic Medical Sciences & Forensic Medicine, Sichuan University and Collaborative Innovation Center for Biotherapy, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Kailin Yang
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Taussig Cancer Center, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
| | - Ping Wang
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children of MOE and State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University and Collaborative Innovation Center, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Shengtao Zhou
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children of MOE and State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University and Collaborative Innovation Center, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
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4
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Zhang Y, Naguro I, Ryuno H, Herr A. Contact Blot: Microfluidic Control and Measurement of Cell-Cell Contact State to Assess Contact-Inhibited ERK Signaling. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2023.11.06.565857. [PMID: 37986875 PMCID: PMC10659358 DOI: 10.1101/2023.11.06.565857] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2023]
Abstract
Extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) signaling is essential to regulated cell behaviors, including cell proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis. The influence of cell-cell contacts on ERK signaling is central to epithelial cells, yet few studies have sought to understand the same in cancer cells, particularly with single-cell resolution. To acquire same-cell measurements of both phenotypic (cell-contact state) and targeted-protein profile (ERK phosphorylation), we prepend high-content, whole-cell imaging prior to endpoint cellular-resolution western blot analyses for each of hundreds of individual HeLa cancer cells cultured on that same chip, which we call contact Blot. By indexing the phosphorylation level of ERK in each cell or cell-cluster to the imaged cell-contact state, we compare ERK signaling between isolated and in-contact cells. We observe attenuated (~2×) ERK signaling in HeLa cells which are in-contact versus isolated. Attenuation is sustained when the HeLa cells are challenged with hyperosmotic stress. Our findings show the impact of cell-cell contacts on ERK activation with isolated and in-contact cells, while introducing a multi omics tool for control and scrutiny of cell-cell interactions.
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5
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Xie H, Guo W, Jiang H, Zhang T, Zhao L, Hu J, Gao S, Song S, Xu J, Xu L, Sun X, Ding Y, Jiang L, Ding X. Photosensitive Hydrogel with Temperature-Controlled Reversible Nano-Apertures for Single-Cell Protein Analysis. ADVANCED SCIENCE (WEINHEIM, BADEN-WURTTEMBERG, GERMANY) 2024; 11:e2308569. [PMID: 38483955 PMCID: PMC11109651 DOI: 10.1002/advs.202308569] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2023] [Revised: 02/15/2024] [Indexed: 05/23/2024]
Abstract
Single cell western blot (scWB) is one of the most important methods for cellular heterogeneity profiling. However, current scWB based on conventional photoactive polyacrylamide hydrogel material suffers from the tradeoff between in-gel probing and separation resolution. Here, a highly sensitive temperature-controlled single-cell western blotting (tc-scWB) method is introduced, which is based on a thermo/photo-dualistic-sensitive polyacrylamide hydrogel, namely acrylic acid-functionalized graphene oxide (AFGO) assisted, N-isopropylacrylamide modified polyacrylamide (ANP) hydrogel. The ANP hydrogel is contracted at high-temperature to constrain protein band diffusion during microchip electrophoretic separation, while the gel aperture is expanded under low-temperature for better antibody penetration into the hydrogel. The tc-scWB method enables the separation and profiling of small-molecule-weight proteins with highly crosslinked gel (12% T) in SDS-PAGE. The tc-scWB is demonstrated on three metabolic and ER stress-specific proteins (CHOP, MDH2 and FH) in four pancreatic cell subtypes, revealing the expression of key enzymes in the Krebs cycle is upregulated with enhanced ER stress. It is found that ER stress can regulate crucial enzyme (MDH2 and FH) activities of metabolic cascade in cancer cells, boosting aerobic respiration to attenuate the Warburg effect and promote cell apoptosis. The tc-scWB is a general toolbox for the analysis of low-abundance small-molecular functional proteins at the single-cell level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haiyang Xie
- Department of Anesthesiology and Surgical Intensive Care UnitXinhua HospitalSchool of Medicine and School of Biomedical EngineeringShanghai Jiao Tong UniversityShanghai200092China
- State Key Laboratory of Oncogenes and Related GenesInstitute for Personalized MedicineSchool of Biomedical EngineeringShanghai Jiao Tong UniversityShanghai200030China
| | - Wenke Guo
- Department of Anesthesiology and Surgical Intensive Care UnitXinhua HospitalSchool of Medicine and School of Biomedical EngineeringShanghai Jiao Tong UniversityShanghai200092China
- State Key Laboratory of Oncogenes and Related GenesInstitute for Personalized MedicineSchool of Biomedical EngineeringShanghai Jiao Tong UniversityShanghai200030China
| | - Hui Jiang
- Department of Anesthesiology and Surgical Intensive Care UnitXinhua HospitalSchool of Medicine and School of Biomedical EngineeringShanghai Jiao Tong UniversityShanghai200092China
- State Key Laboratory of Oncogenes and Related GenesInstitute for Personalized MedicineSchool of Biomedical EngineeringShanghai Jiao Tong UniversityShanghai200030China
| | - Ting Zhang
- Department of Anesthesiology and Surgical Intensive Care UnitXinhua HospitalSchool of Medicine and School of Biomedical EngineeringShanghai Jiao Tong UniversityShanghai200092China
- State Key Laboratory of Oncogenes and Related GenesInstitute for Personalized MedicineSchool of Biomedical EngineeringShanghai Jiao Tong UniversityShanghai200030China
| | - Lei Zhao
- Department of Anesthesiology and Surgical Intensive Care UnitXinhua HospitalSchool of Medicine and School of Biomedical EngineeringShanghai Jiao Tong UniversityShanghai200092China
- State Key Laboratory of Oncogenes and Related GenesInstitute for Personalized MedicineSchool of Biomedical EngineeringShanghai Jiao Tong UniversityShanghai200030China
| | - Jinjuan Hu
- Department of Anesthesiology and Surgical Intensive Care UnitXinhua HospitalSchool of Medicine and School of Biomedical EngineeringShanghai Jiao Tong UniversityShanghai200092China
- State Key Laboratory of Oncogenes and Related GenesInstitute for Personalized MedicineSchool of Biomedical EngineeringShanghai Jiao Tong UniversityShanghai200030China
| | - Shuxin Gao
- Department of Anesthesiology and Surgical Intensive Care UnitXinhua HospitalSchool of Medicine and School of Biomedical EngineeringShanghai Jiao Tong UniversityShanghai200092China
- State Key Laboratory of Oncogenes and Related GenesInstitute for Personalized MedicineSchool of Biomedical EngineeringShanghai Jiao Tong UniversityShanghai200030China
| | - Sunfengda Song
- Department of Anesthesiology and Surgical Intensive Care UnitXinhua HospitalSchool of Medicine and School of Biomedical EngineeringShanghai Jiao Tong UniversityShanghai200092China
- State Key Laboratory of Oncogenes and Related GenesInstitute for Personalized MedicineSchool of Biomedical EngineeringShanghai Jiao Tong UniversityShanghai200030China
| | - Jiasu Xu
- Department of Anesthesiology and Surgical Intensive Care UnitXinhua HospitalSchool of Medicine and School of Biomedical EngineeringShanghai Jiao Tong UniversityShanghai200092China
- State Key Laboratory of Oncogenes and Related GenesInstitute for Personalized MedicineSchool of Biomedical EngineeringShanghai Jiao Tong UniversityShanghai200030China
| | - Li Xu
- Department of Anesthesiology and Surgical Intensive Care UnitXinhua HospitalSchool of Medicine and School of Biomedical EngineeringShanghai Jiao Tong UniversityShanghai200092China
- State Key Laboratory of Oncogenes and Related GenesInstitute for Personalized MedicineSchool of Biomedical EngineeringShanghai Jiao Tong UniversityShanghai200030China
| | - Xinyi Sun
- Department of Anesthesiology and Surgical Intensive Care UnitXinhua HospitalSchool of Medicine and School of Biomedical EngineeringShanghai Jiao Tong UniversityShanghai200092China
- State Key Laboratory of Oncogenes and Related GenesInstitute for Personalized MedicineSchool of Biomedical EngineeringShanghai Jiao Tong UniversityShanghai200030China
| | - Yi Ding
- Department of Anesthesiology and Surgical Intensive Care UnitXinhua HospitalSchool of Medicine and School of Biomedical EngineeringShanghai Jiao Tong UniversityShanghai200092China
- State Key Laboratory of Oncogenes and Related GenesInstitute for Personalized MedicineSchool of Biomedical EngineeringShanghai Jiao Tong UniversityShanghai200030China
| | - Lai Jiang
- Department of Anesthesiology and Surgical Intensive Care UnitXinhua HospitalSchool of Medicine and School of Biomedical EngineeringShanghai Jiao Tong UniversityShanghai200092China
- State Key Laboratory of Oncogenes and Related GenesInstitute for Personalized MedicineSchool of Biomedical EngineeringShanghai Jiao Tong UniversityShanghai200030China
| | - Xianting Ding
- Department of Anesthesiology and Surgical Intensive Care UnitXinhua HospitalSchool of Medicine and School of Biomedical EngineeringShanghai Jiao Tong UniversityShanghai200092China
- State Key Laboratory of Oncogenes and Related GenesInstitute for Personalized MedicineSchool of Biomedical EngineeringShanghai Jiao Tong UniversityShanghai200030China
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6
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Owen C, Fader KA, Hassanein M. Western blotting: evolution of an old analytical method to a new quantitative tool for biomarker measurements. Bioanalysis 2024; 16:319-328. [PMID: 38348662 DOI: 10.4155/bio-2023-0212] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/17/2024] Open
Abstract
Western blotting (WB) is a widely used laboratory technique for detecting specific proteins in biological matrices. Recent advances in antibody production, automation, gel and membrane manufacturing and highly sensitive detection platforms have transformed WB from a labor-intensive and qualitative method into a highly reproducible and quantitative assay suitable for biomarker detection. Despite these significant improvements in the capabilities and efficiency of WB, there remain challenges that hinder its widespread application as a research, diagnostic (in two-tiered assays like Lyme disease testing) and drug development tool. This article describes recent innovations introduced to WB methodology and the remaining challenges that prevent its wider adoption for biomarker measurements throughout the drug development process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carolina Owen
- Early Clinical Development, Precision Medicine, Pfizer Inc., 445 Eastern Point Rd, Groton, CT 06340, USA
| | - Kelly A Fader
- Early Clinical Development, Precision Medicine, Pfizer Inc., 445 Eastern Point Rd, Groton, CT 06340, USA
| | - Mohamed Hassanein
- Early Clinical Development, Precision Medicine, Pfizer Inc., 1 Portland St, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
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7
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Xu L, Xie H, Wang B, Zhu Z, Jiang H, Duan X, Deng S, Xu J, Jiang L, Ding X. Multiplex Protein Profiling by Low-Signal-Loss Single-Cell Western Blotting with Fluorescent-Quenching Aptamers. Anal Chem 2023; 95:11399-11409. [PMID: 37458448 DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.3c01577] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/02/2023]
Abstract
Single-cell western blotting (scWB) is a prevalent technique for high-resolution protein analysis on low-abundance cell samples. However, the extensive signal loss during repeated antibody stripping precludes multiplex protein detection. Herein, we introduce Fluorescent-quenching Aptamer-based Single-cell Western Blotting (FAS-WB) for multiplex protein detection at single-cell resolution. The minimal size of aptamer probes allows rapid in-gel penetration, diffusion, and elution. Meanwhile, the fluorophore-tagged aptamers, coordinated with complementary quenching strands, avoid the massive signal loss conventionally caused by antibody stripping during repeated staining. Such a strategy also facilitates multiplex protein analysis with a limited number of fluorescent tags. We demonstrated FAS-WB for co-imaging four biomarker proteins (EpCAM, PTK7, HER2, CA125) at single-cell resolution with lower signal loss and enhanced signal-to-noise ratio compared to conventional antibody-based scWB. Being more time-saving (less than 25 min per cycle) and economical (1/1000 cost of conventional antibody probes), FAS-WB offers a highly efficient platform for profiling multiplex proteins at single-cell resolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Li Xu
- Department of Anesthesiology and Surgical Intensive Care Unit, Xinhua Hospital, School of Medicine and School of Biomedical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200230, China
- State Key Laboratory of Oncogenes and Related Genes, Institute for Personalized Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200230, China
| | - Haiyang Xie
- Department of Anesthesiology and Surgical Intensive Care Unit, Xinhua Hospital, School of Medicine and School of Biomedical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200230, China
| | - Boqian Wang
- Department of Anesthesiology and Surgical Intensive Care Unit, Xinhua Hospital, School of Medicine and School of Biomedical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200230, China
| | - Zijian Zhu
- Department of Anesthesiology and Surgical Intensive Care Unit, Xinhua Hospital, School of Medicine and School of Biomedical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200230, China
| | - Hui Jiang
- Department of Anesthesiology and Surgical Intensive Care Unit, Xinhua Hospital, School of Medicine and School of Biomedical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200230, China
| | - Xiaoqian Duan
- Department of Anesthesiology and Surgical Intensive Care Unit, Xinhua Hospital, School of Medicine and School of Biomedical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200230, China
| | - Shuxin Deng
- Department of Anesthesiology and Surgical Intensive Care Unit, Xinhua Hospital, School of Medicine and School of Biomedical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200230, China
| | - Jiasu Xu
- Department of Anesthesiology and Surgical Intensive Care Unit, Xinhua Hospital, School of Medicine and School of Biomedical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200230, China
| | - Lai Jiang
- Department of Anesthesiology and Surgical Intensive Care Unit, Xinhua Hospital, School of Medicine and School of Biomedical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200230, China
- State Key Laboratory of Oncogenes and Related Genes, Institute for Personalized Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200230, China
| | - Xianting Ding
- Department of Anesthesiology and Surgical Intensive Care Unit, Xinhua Hospital, School of Medicine and School of Biomedical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200230, China
- State Key Laboratory of Oncogenes and Related Genes, Institute for Personalized Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200230, China
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8
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Liu R, Li J, Lan Y, Nguyen TD, Chen YA, Yang Z. Quantifying Cell Heterogeneity and Subpopulations Using Single Cell Metabolomics. Anal Chem 2023; 95:7127-7133. [PMID: 37115510 DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.2c05245] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/29/2023]
Abstract
Mass spectrometry (MS) has become an indispensable tool for metabolomics studies. However, due to the lack of applicable experimental platforms, suitable algorithm, software, and quantitative analyses of cell heterogeneity and subpopulations, investigating global metabolomics profiling at the single cell level remains challenging. We combined the Single-probe single cell MS (SCMS) experimental technique with a bioinformatics software package, SinCHet-MS (Single Cell Heterogeneity for Mass Spectrometry), to characterize changes of tumor heterogeneity, quantify cell subpopulations, and prioritize the metabolite biomarkers of each subpopulation. As proof of principle studies, two melanoma cancer cell lines, the primary (WM115; with a lower drug resistance) and the metastatic (WM266-4; with a higher drug resistance), were used as models. Our results indicate that after the treatment of the anticancer drug vemurafenib, a new subpopulation emerged in WM115 cells, while the proportion of the existing subpopulations was changed in the WM266-4 cells. In addition, metabolites for each subpopulation can be prioritized. Combining the SCMS experimental technique with a bioinformatics tool, our label-free approach can be applied to quantitatively study cell heterogeneity, prioritize markers for further investigation, and improve the understanding of cell metabolism in human diseases and response to therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Renmeng Liu
- Chemistry and Biochemistry Department, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma 73072, United States
| | - Jiannong Li
- Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, Florida 33647, United States
| | - Yunpeng Lan
- Chemistry and Biochemistry Department, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma 73072, United States
| | - Tra D Nguyen
- Chemistry and Biochemistry Department, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma 73072, United States
| | - Y Ann Chen
- Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, Florida 33647, United States
| | - Zhibo Yang
- Chemistry and Biochemistry Department, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma 73072, United States
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9
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Gebreyesus ST, Muneer G, Huang CC, Siyal AA, Anand M, Chen YJ, Tu HL. Recent advances in microfluidics for single-cell functional proteomics. LAB ON A CHIP 2023; 23:1726-1751. [PMID: 36811978 DOI: 10.1039/d2lc01096h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Single-cell proteomics (SCP) reveals phenotypic heterogeneity by profiling individual cells, their biological states and functional outcomes upon signaling activation that can hardly be probed via other omics characterizations. This has become appealing to researchers as it enables an overall more holistic view of biological details underlying cellular processes, disease onset and progression, as well as facilitates unique biomarker identification from individual cells. Microfluidic-based strategies have become methods of choice for single-cell analysis because they allow facile assay integrations, such as cell sorting, manipulation, and content analysis. Notably, they have been serving as an enabling technology to improve the sensitivity, robustness, and reproducibility of recently developed SCP methods. Critical roles of microfluidics technologies are expected to further expand rapidly in advancing the next phase of SCP analysis to reveal more biological and clinical insights. In this review, we will capture the excitement of the recent achievements of microfluidics methods for both targeted and global SCP, including efforts to enhance the proteomic coverage, minimize sample loss, and increase multiplexity and throughput. Furthermore, we will discuss the advantages, challenges, applications, and future prospects of SCP.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sofani Tafesse Gebreyesus
- Institute of Chemistry, Academia Sinica, Taipei 11529, Taiwan.
- Nano Science and Technology Program, Taiwan International Graduate Program, Academia Sinica, Taipei 11529, Taiwan
- Department of Chemistry, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan
| | - Gul Muneer
- Institute of Chemistry, Academia Sinica, Taipei 11529, Taiwan.
- Chemical Biology and Molecular Biophysics Program, Taiwan International Graduate Program, Academia Sinica, Taipei 11529, Taiwan
- Institute of Biochemical Sciences, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan
| | | | - Asad Ali Siyal
- Institute of Chemistry, Academia Sinica, Taipei 11529, Taiwan.
| | - Mihir Anand
- Institute of Chemistry, Academia Sinica, Taipei 11529, Taiwan.
- Chemical Biology and Molecular Biophysics Program, Taiwan International Graduate Program, Academia Sinica, Taipei 11529, Taiwan
- Institute of Biochemical Sciences, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan
| | - Yu-Ju Chen
- Institute of Chemistry, Academia Sinica, Taipei 11529, Taiwan.
- Department of Chemistry, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan
- Chemical Biology and Molecular Biophysics Program, Taiwan International Graduate Program, Academia Sinica, Taipei 11529, Taiwan
- Genome and Systems Biology Degree Program, Academia Sinica and National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan
| | - Hsiung-Lin Tu
- Institute of Chemistry, Academia Sinica, Taipei 11529, Taiwan.
- Nano Science and Technology Program, Taiwan International Graduate Program, Academia Sinica, Taipei 11529, Taiwan
- Chemical Biology and Molecular Biophysics Program, Taiwan International Graduate Program, Academia Sinica, Taipei 11529, Taiwan
- Genome and Systems Biology Degree Program, Academia Sinica and National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan
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10
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Desire CT, Arrua RD, Strudwick XL, Kopecki Z, Cowin AJ, Hilder EF. The development of microfluidic-based western blotting: Technical advances and future perspectives. J Chromatogr A 2023; 1691:463813. [PMID: 36709548 DOI: 10.1016/j.chroma.2023.463813] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2022] [Revised: 01/11/2023] [Accepted: 01/18/2023] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
Over the past two decades significant technical advancement in the field of western blotting has been made possible through the utilization of microfluidic technologies. In this review we provide a critical overview of these advancements, highlighting the advantages and disadvantages of each approach. Particular attention is paid to the development of now commercially available systems, including those for single cell analysis. This review also discusses more recent developments, including algorithms for automation and/or improved quantitation, the utilization of different materials/chemistries, use of projection electrophoresis, and the development of triBlots. Finally, the review includes commentary on future advances in the field based on current developments, and the potential of these systems for use as point-of-care devices in healthcare.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher T Desire
- Future Industries Institute, University of South Australia, GPO Box 2471, Adelaide, SA 5001, Australia
| | - R Dario Arrua
- Future Industries Institute, University of South Australia, GPO Box 2471, Adelaide, SA 5001, Australia
| | - Xanthe L Strudwick
- Future Industries Institute, University of South Australia, GPO Box 2471, Adelaide, SA 5001, Australia
| | - Zlatko Kopecki
- Future Industries Institute, University of South Australia, GPO Box 2471, Adelaide, SA 5001, Australia
| | - Allison J Cowin
- Future Industries Institute, University of South Australia, GPO Box 2471, Adelaide, SA 5001, Australia
| | - Emily F Hilder
- Future Industries Institute, University of South Australia, GPO Box 2471, Adelaide, SA 5001, Australia.
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11
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Garg T, Weiss CR, Sheth RA. Techniques for Profiling the Cellular Immune Response and Their Implications for Interventional Oncology. Cancers (Basel) 2022; 14:3628. [PMID: 35892890 PMCID: PMC9332307 DOI: 10.3390/cancers14153628] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2022] [Revised: 07/19/2022] [Accepted: 07/20/2022] [Indexed: 12/07/2022] Open
Abstract
In recent years there has been increased interest in using the immune contexture of the primary tumors to predict the patient's prognosis. The tumor microenvironment of patients with cancers consists of different types of lymphocytes, tumor-infiltrating leukocytes, dendritic cells, and others. Different technologies can be used for the evaluation of the tumor microenvironment, all of which require a tissue or cell sample. Image-guided tissue sampling is a cornerstone in the diagnosis, stratification, and longitudinal evaluation of therapeutic efficacy for cancer patients receiving immunotherapies. Therefore, interventional radiologists (IRs) play an essential role in the evaluation of patients treated with systemically administered immunotherapies. This review provides a detailed description of different technologies used for immune assessment and analysis of the data collected from the use of these technologies. The detailed approach provided herein is intended to provide the reader with the knowledge necessary to not only interpret studies containing such data but also design and apply these tools for clinical practice and future research studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tushar Garg
- Division of Vascular and Interventional Radiology, Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA; (T.G.); (C.R.W.)
| | - Clifford R. Weiss
- Division of Vascular and Interventional Radiology, Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA; (T.G.); (C.R.W.)
| | - Rahul A. Sheth
- Department of Interventional Radiology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
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12
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Abstract
Western blotting (WB), also known as immunoblotting, is a well-known molecular biology method that biologists often use to investigate many features of the protein, ranging from basic protein analysis to disease detection. WB is simple, unique, rapid, widely used routine tool with easy interpretation and definite results. It is being used in various fields of science, research and development, diagnostic labs and hospitals. The principle of WB is to accomplish the separation of proteins based on molecular weight and charge. This review addresses in detail the individual steps involved in the WB technique, its troubleshooting, internal loading controls, total protein staining and its diverse applications in scientific research and clinical settings, along with its future perspectives.
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13
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Xie H, Ding X. The Intriguing Landscape of Single-Cell Protein Analysis. ADVANCED SCIENCE (WEINHEIM, BADEN-WURTTEMBERG, GERMANY) 2022; 9:e2105932. [PMID: 35199955 PMCID: PMC9036017 DOI: 10.1002/advs.202105932] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2021] [Revised: 01/27/2022] [Indexed: 05/15/2023]
Abstract
Profiling protein expression at single-cell resolution is essential for fundamental biological research (such as cell differentiation and tumor microenvironmental examination) and clinical precision medicine where only a limited number of primary cells are permitted. With the recent advances in engineering, chemistry, and biology, single-cell protein analysis methods are developed rapidly, which enable high-throughput and multiplexed protein measurements in thousands of individual cells. In combination with single cell RNA sequencing and mass spectrometry, single-cell multi-omics analysis can simultaneously measure multiple modalities including mRNAs, proteins, and metabolites in single cells, and obtain a more comprehensive exploration of cellular signaling processes, such as DNA modifications, chromatin accessibility, protein abundance, and gene perturbation. Here, the recent progress and applications of single-cell protein analysis technologies in the last decade are summarized. Current limitations, challenges, and possible future directions in this field are also discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haiyang Xie
- State Key Laboratory of Oncogenes and Related GenesInstitute for Personalized MedicineSchool of Biomedical EngineeringShanghai Jiao Tong UniversityShanghai200030China
| | - Xianting Ding
- State Key Laboratory of Oncogenes and Related GenesInstitute for Personalized MedicineSchool of Biomedical EngineeringShanghai Jiao Tong UniversityShanghai200030China
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14
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Abdulla A, Zhang T, Li S, Guo W, Warden AR, Xin Y, Maboyi N, Lou J, Xie H, Ding X. Integrated microfluidic single-cell immunoblotting chip enables high-throughput isolation, enrichment and direct protein analysis of circulating tumor cells. MICROSYSTEMS & NANOENGINEERING 2022; 8:13. [PMID: 35136652 PMCID: PMC8807661 DOI: 10.1038/s41378-021-00342-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2021] [Revised: 10/07/2021] [Accepted: 11/11/2021] [Indexed: 05/14/2023]
Abstract
Effective capture and analysis of a single circulating tumor cell (CTC) is instrumental for early diagnosis and personalized therapy of tumors. However, due to their extremely low abundance and susceptibility to interference from other cells, high-throughput isolation, enrichment, and single-cell-level functional protein analysis of CTCs within one integrated system remains a major challenge. Herein, we present an integrated multifunctional microfluidic system for highly efficient and label-free CTC isolation, CTC enrichment, and single-cell immunoblotting (ieSCI). The ieSCI-chip is a multilayer microfluidic system that combines an inertia force-based cell sorter with a membrane filter for label-free CTC separation and enrichment and a thin layer of a photoactive polyacrylamide gel with microwell arrays at the bottom of the chamber for single-cell immunoblotting. The ieSCI-chip successfully identified a subgroup of apoptosis-negative (Bax-negative) cells, which traditional bulk analysis did not detect, from cisplatin-treated cells. Furthermore, we demonstrated the clinical application of the ieSCI-chip with blood samples from breast cancer patients for personalized CTC epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) analysis. The expression level of a tumor cell marker (EpCAM) can be directly determined in isolated CTCs at the single-cell level, and the therapeutic response to anticancer drugs can be simultaneously monitored. Therefore, the ieSCI-chip provides a promising clinical translational tool for clinical drug response monitoring and personalized regimen development.
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Grants
- National Natural Science Foundation of China (National Science Foundation of China)
- Project by National Innovation Special Zone, Project 2017SHZDZX01, 17DZ2203400, and 18430760500 by Shanghai Municipal Science and Technology, Project G20180101 by Shanghai Agriculture Applied Technology Development Program, Project ZXWF082101 by Shanghai Municipal Education Commission, Project 2017ZX10203205-006-002 by National Key Research and Development Program of China, Project 19X190020154, ZH2018ZDA01, YG2016QN24 and YG2016MS60 by Shanghai Jiao Tong University Biomedical Interdisciplinary Program, Project ZH2018QNA54 and ZH2018QNA49 by the Medical-Engineering Cross Foundation of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Project 2019CXJQ03 by Innovation Group Project of Shanghai Municipal Health Comission, Project 19MC1910800 by Shanghai Clinical Medical Research Center, Project SD0820016 by the third batch of industrialization project of Innovation Incubation Fund of Nantong and Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Project SL2020MS026 by the Oceanic Interdisciplinary Program of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Project Agri-X20200101 by Shanghai Jiao Tong University, SJTU Global Strategic Partnership Fund (2020 SJTU-HUJI).
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Affiliation(s)
- Aynur Abdulla
- Institute for Personalized Medicine, School of Biomedical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200030 China
| | - Ting Zhang
- Institute for Personalized Medicine, School of Biomedical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200030 China
| | - Shanhe Li
- Institute for Personalized Medicine, School of Biomedical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200030 China
| | - Wenke Guo
- Institute for Personalized Medicine, School of Biomedical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200030 China
| | - Antony R. Warden
- Institute for Personalized Medicine, School of Biomedical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200030 China
| | - Yufang Xin
- Institute for Personalized Medicine, School of Biomedical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200030 China
| | - Nokuzola Maboyi
- Institute for Personalized Medicine, School of Biomedical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200030 China
| | - Jiatao Lou
- Shanghai General Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, No.85 Wujing Road, Shanghai, 200080 China
| | - Haiyang Xie
- Institute for Personalized Medicine, School of Biomedical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200030 China
| | - Xianting Ding
- Institute for Personalized Medicine, School of Biomedical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200030 China
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15
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Singh KK, Gupta A, Bharti C, Sharma H. Emerging techniques of western blotting for purification and analysis of protein. FUTURE JOURNAL OF PHARMACEUTICAL SCIENCES 2021. [DOI: 10.1186/s43094-021-00386-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Background
Western blotting is frequently employed in molecular techniques like Proteomics and Biology. Because it is a sequential framework, differences and inaccuracies could even take place at any stage, decreasing this particular method's reproducibility and reliability.
Main text
New approaches, like automated microfluid western blotting, DigiWest, single cell resolution, microchip electrophoresis, and capillary electrophoresis, were all implemented to reduce the future conflicts linked with the western blot analysis approach. Discovery of new in devices and higher susceptibility for western blots gives innovative opportunities to expand Western blot’s clinical relevance. The advancements in various region of west blotting included in this analysis of transfer of protein and validation of antibody are described.
Conclusion
This paper describes another very developed strategy available as well as demonstrated the correlation among Western blotting techniques of the next generation and their clinical implications. In this review, the different techniques of western blotting and their improvement in different stages have been discussed.
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16
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Procházková M, Killinger M, Prokeš L, Klepárník K. Miniaturized bioluminescence technology for single-cell quantification of caspase-3/7. J Pharm Biomed Anal 2021; 209:114512. [PMID: 34891005 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpba.2021.114512] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2021] [Revised: 11/26/2021] [Accepted: 11/27/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Correct determination of the instantaneous level and changes of relevant proteins inside individual cells is essential for correct interpretation and understanding of physiological, diagnostic, and therapeutic events. Thus, single-cell analyses are important for quantification of natural cellular heterogeneity, which cannot be evaluated from averaged data of a cell population measurements. Here, we developed an original highly sensitive and selective instrumentation and methodology based on homogeneous single-step bioluminescence assay to quantify caspases and evaluate their heterogeneity in individual cells. Individual suspended cells are selected under microscope and reliably transferred into the 7 µl detection vials by a micromanipulator. The sensitivity of the method is given by implementation of photomultiplying tube with a cooled photocathode working in the photon counting mode. By optimization of our device and methodology, the limits of detection and quantitation were decreased down to 2.1 and 7.0 fg of recombinant caspase-3, respectively. These masses are lower than average amounts of caspase-3/7 in individual apoptotic and even non-apoptotic cells. As a proof of concept, the content of caspase-3/7 in single treated and untreated HeLa cells was determined to be 154 and 25 fg, respectively. Based on these results, we aim to use the technology for investigations of non-apoptotic functions of caspases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Markéta Procházková
- Department of Bioanalytical Instrumentation, Institute of Analytical Chemistry, v.v.i., Czech Academy of Sciences, Veveří 97, Brno 602 00, Czech Republic; Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kotlářská 267/2, Brno 611 37, Czech Republic.
| | - Michael Killinger
- Department of Bioanalytical Instrumentation, Institute of Analytical Chemistry, v.v.i., Czech Academy of Sciences, Veveří 97, Brno 602 00, Czech Republic; Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kotlářská 267/2, Brno 611 37, Czech Republic.
| | - Lubomír Prokeš
- Department of Physics, Chemistry and Vocational Education, Faculty of Education, Masaryk University, Poříčí 7, Brno 603 00, Czech Republic.
| | - Karel Klepárník
- Department of Bioanalytical Instrumentation, Institute of Analytical Chemistry, v.v.i., Czech Academy of Sciences, Veveří 97, Brno 602 00, Czech Republic.
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17
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Meftahi GH, Bahari Z, Zarei Mahmoudabadi A, Iman M, Jangravi Z. Applications of western blot technique: From bench to bedside. BIOCHEMISTRY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY EDUCATION : A BIMONTHLY PUBLICATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL UNION OF BIOCHEMISTRY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2021; 49:509-517. [PMID: 33847452 DOI: 10.1002/bmb.21516] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2020] [Accepted: 03/30/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Western blot (WB) or immunoblot is a workhorse method. It is commonly used by biologists for study of different aspects of protein biomolecules. In addition, it has been widely used in disease diagnosis. Despite some limitations such as long time, different applications of WB have not been limited. In the present review, we have summarized scientific and clinical applications of WB. In addition, we described some new generation of WB techniques.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Zahra Bahari
- Department of Physiology and Medical Physics, Faculty of Medicine, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Ali Zarei Mahmoudabadi
- Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Maryam Iman
- Department of Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmacy, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Zohreh Jangravi
- Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
- Nanobiotechnology Research Center, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
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18
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Kawai T, Mihara Y, Morita M, Ohkubo M, Asami T, Watanabe TM. Quantitation of Cell Membrane Permeability of Cyclic Peptides by Single-Cell Cytoplasm Mass Spectrometry. Anal Chem 2021; 93:3370-3377. [PMID: 33550808 DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.0c03901] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Cyclic peptides (CPs) have attracted attention as next-generation drugs because they possess both cell-permeable potential as small molecules and specific affinity similar to antibodies. As intracellular molecules are important targets of CPs, quantitation of the intracellular retention and transmembrane permeability of CPs is necessary for drug development. However, permeated CPs within cells cannot be directly assessed by conventional permeability assays using methods such as artificial membranes and cell monolayers. Here, we propose a new approach using single-cell cytoplasm mass spectrometry (SCC-MS). After cells were incubated with CPs, the cytoplasm was directly collected from a single cell using a microneedle followed by nanoelectrospray ionization mass spectrometry detection of the CPs. The height of the CP peak was plotted against time and fitted with a simple function, y = a(1 - e-bx), to calculate the apparent permeability coefficient (Papp) for both the influx and efflux directions. MCF-7 cells were selected as model cancer cells and cultured with cyclosporin A (CsA) and its demethylated analogs (dmCsA-1, -2, and -3) as model CPs. Papp values (10-6 cm/s) obtained from cells incubated with 50 μM CPs ranged from 0.017 to 0.121 for influx and 0.20 to 1.48 for efflux. The higher efflux ratio was possibly caused by efflux transporters such as P-glycoprotein, a well-known receptor of CsA. The equilibrated intracellular concentration of CPs was estimated to be as low as 4.1-6.8 μM, which showed good consistency with the high efflux ratio. SCC-MS is promising as a reliable permeability assay for next-generation CP-based pharmaceuticals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Takayuki Kawai
- RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, Suita, Osaka 565-0874, Japan.,Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan
| | - Yasuhiro Mihara
- Research Headquarters, Taisho Pharmaceutical Co., LTD., Saitama-shi, Saitama 331-9530, Japan
| | - Makiko Morita
- RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, Suita, Osaka 565-0874, Japan
| | - Masahiko Ohkubo
- Research Headquarters, Taisho Pharmaceutical Co., LTD., Saitama-shi, Saitama 331-9530, Japan
| | - Taiji Asami
- Research Headquarters, Taisho Pharmaceutical Co., LTD., Saitama-shi, Saitama 331-9530, Japan
| | - Tomonobu M Watanabe
- RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, Suita, Osaka 565-0874, Japan.,Research Institute for Radiation Biology and Medicine, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima City, Hiroshima 734-8553, Japan
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19
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Rosàs-Canyelles E, Modzelewski AJ, Geldert A, He L, Herr AE. Multimodal detection of protein isoforms and nucleic acids from mouse pre-implantation embryos. Nat Protoc 2021; 16:1062-1088. [PMID: 33452502 PMCID: PMC7954398 DOI: 10.1038/s41596-020-00449-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2020] [Accepted: 10/19/2020] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
Although mammalian embryo development depends on critical protein isoforms that arise from embryo-specific nucleic acid modifications, the role of these isoforms is not yet clear. Challenges arise in measuring protein isoforms and nucleic acids from the same single embryos and blastomeres. Here we present a multimodal technique for performing same-embryo nucleic acid and protein isoform profiling (single-embryo nucleic acid and protein profiling immunoblot, or snapBlot). The method integrates protein isoform measurement by fractionation polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (fPAGE) with off-chip analysis of nucleic acids from the nuclei. Once embryos are harvested and cultured to the desired stage, they are sampled into the snapBlot device and subjected to fPAGE. After fPAGE, 'gel pallets' containing nuclei are excised from the snapBlot device for off-chip nucleic acid analyses. fPAGE and nuclei analyses are indexed to each starting sample, yielding same-embryo multimodal measurements. The entire protocol, including processing of samples and data analysis, takes 2-3 d. snapBlot is designed to help reveal the mechanisms by which embryo-specific nucleic acid modifications to both genomic DNA and messenger RNA orchestrate the growth and development of mammalian embryos.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elisabet Rosàs-Canyelles
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
- The University of California Berkeley and University of California San Francisco Graduate Program in Bioengineering, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Andrew J Modzelewski
- Division of Cellular and Developmental Biology, Department of Molecular & Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Alisha Geldert
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
- The University of California Berkeley and University of California San Francisco Graduate Program in Bioengineering, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Lin He
- Division of Cellular and Developmental Biology, Department of Molecular & Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Amy E Herr
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.
- The University of California Berkeley and University of California San Francisco Graduate Program in Bioengineering, Berkeley, CA, USA.
- Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, San Francisco, CA, USA.
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20
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Kawai T. Recent Advances in Trace Bioanalysis by Capillary Electrophoresis. ANAL SCI 2021; 37:27-36. [PMID: 33041311 DOI: 10.2116/analsci.20sar12] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2020] [Accepted: 09/29/2020] [Indexed: 07/25/2024]
Abstract
Recently, single cell analysis is becoming more and more important to elucidate cellular heterogeneity. Except for nucleic acid that can be amplified by PCR, the required technical level for single cell analysis is extremely high and the appropriate design of sample preparation and a sensitive analytical system is necessary. Capillary/microchip electrophoresis (CE/MCE) can separate biomolecules in nL-scale solution with high resolution, and it is highly compatible with trace samples like a single cell. Coupled with highly sensitive detectors such as laser-induced fluorescence and nano-electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry, zmol level analytes can be detected. For further enhancing sensitivity, online sample preconcentration techniques can be employed. By integrating these high-sensitive techniques, single cell analysis of metabolites, proteins, and lipids have been achieved. This review paper highlights successful research on CE/MCE-based trace bioanalysis in recent 10 years. Firstly, an overview of basic knowledge on CE/MCE including sensitivity enhancement techniques is provided. Applications to trace bioanalysis are then introduced with discussion on current issues and future prospects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Takayuki Kawai
- RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research
- Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences, Osaka University
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21
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Grist SM, Mourdoukoutas AP, Herr AE. 3D projection electrophoresis for single-cell immunoblotting. Nat Commun 2020; 11:6237. [PMID: 33277486 PMCID: PMC7718224 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-19738-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2020] [Accepted: 10/20/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Immunoassays and mass spectrometry are powerful single-cell protein analysis tools; however, interfacing and throughput bottlenecks remain. Here, we introduce three-dimensional single-cell immunoblots to detect both cytosolic and nuclear proteins. The 3D microfluidic device is a photoactive polyacrylamide gel with a microwell array-patterned face (xy) for cell isolation and lysis. Single-cell lysate in each microwell is "electrophoretically projected" into the 3rd dimension (z-axis), separated by size, and photo-captured in the gel for immunoprobing and confocal/light-sheet imaging. Design and analysis are informed by the physics of 3D diffusion. Electrophoresis throughput is > 2.5 cells/s (70× faster than published serial sampling), with 25 immunoblots/mm2 device area (>10× increase over previous immunoblots). The 3D microdevice design synchronizes analyses of hundreds of cells, compared to status quo serial analyses that impart hours-long delay between the first and last cells. Here, we introduce projection electrophoresis to augment the heavily genomic and transcriptomic single-cell atlases with protein-level profiling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samantha M Grist
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Berkeley, USA
| | - Andoni P Mourdoukoutas
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Berkeley, USA
- UC Berkeley - UCSF Graduate Program in Bioengineering, Berkeley, USA
| | - Amy E Herr
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Berkeley, USA.
- UC Berkeley - UCSF Graduate Program in Bioengineering, Berkeley, USA.
- Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, San Francisco, CA, USA.
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22
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Single-cell protein expression of hiPSC-derived cardiomyocytes using Single-Cell Westerns. J Mol Cell Cardiol 2020; 149:115-122. [PMID: 33010256 DOI: 10.1016/j.yjmcc.2020.09.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2020] [Revised: 09/21/2020] [Accepted: 09/25/2020] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
The ability to reprogram human somatic cells into human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) has enabled researchers to generate cell types in vitro that have the potential to faithfully recapitulate patient-specific disease processes and phenotypes. hiPSC-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs) offer the promise of in vitro patient- and disease-specific models for drug testing and the discovery of novel therapeutic approaches for treating cardiovascular diseases. While methods to differentiate hiPSCs into cardiomyocytes have been demonstrated, the heterogeneity and immaturity of these differentiated populations have restricted their potential in reproducing human disease and the associated target cell phenotypes. These barriers may be overcome through comprehensive single-cell characterization to dissect the rich heterogeneity of hiPSC-CMs and to study the source of varying cell fates. In this study, we optimized and validated a new Single-Cell Western method to assess protein expression in hiPSC-CMs. To better understand distinct subpopulations generated from cardiomyocyte differentiations and to track populations at single-cell resolution over time, we measured and quantified the expression of cardiomyocyte subtype-specific proteins (MLC2V and MLC2A) using Single-Cell Westerns. By understanding their heterogeneity through single-cell protein expression and quantification, we may improve upon current cardiomyocyte differentiation protocols, generate hiPSC-CMs that are more representative of in vivo derived cardiomyocytes for disease modeling, and utilize hiPSC-CMs for regenerative medicine purposes. Single-Cell Westerns provide a robust platform for protein expression analysis at single-cell resolution.
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23
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Zhang Q, Lou Y, Bai XL, Liang TB. Intratumoral heterogeneity of hepatocellular carcinoma: From single-cell to population-based studies. World J Gastroenterol 2020; 26:3720-3736. [PMID: 32774053 PMCID: PMC7383842 DOI: 10.3748/wjg.v26.i26.3720] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2020] [Revised: 06/02/2020] [Accepted: 06/18/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is characterized by high heterogeneity in both intratumoral and interpatient manners. While interpatient heterogeneity is related to personalized therapy, intratumoral heterogeneity (ITH) largely influences the efficacy of therapies in individuals. ITH contributes to tumor growth, metastasis, recurrence, and drug resistance and consequently limits the prognosis of patients with HCC. There is an urgent need to understand the causes, characteristics, and consequences of tumor heterogeneity in HCC for the purposes of guiding clinical practice and improving survival. Here, we summarize the studies and technologies that describe ITH in HCC to gain insight into the origin and evolutionary process of heterogeneity. In parallel, evidence is collected to delineate the dynamic relationship between ITH and the tumor ecosystem. We suggest that conducting comprehensive studies of ITH using single-cell approaches in temporal and spatial dimensions, combined with population-based clinical trials, will help to clarify the clinical implications of ITH, develop novel intervention strategies, and improve patient prognosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qi Zhang
- Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, the First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310003, Zhejiang Province, China
- Key Laboratory of Pancreatic Disease of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou 310003, Zhejiang Province, China
- Innovation Center for the Study of Pancreatic Diseases of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou 310003, Zhejiang Province, China
- Zhejiang Clinical Research Center of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Diseases, Hangzhou 310003, Zhejiang Province, China
| | - Yu Lou
- Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, the First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310003, Zhejiang Province, China
- Key Laboratory of Pancreatic Disease of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou 310003, Zhejiang Province, China
| | - Xue-Li Bai
- Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, the First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310003, Zhejiang Province, China
- Key Laboratory of Pancreatic Disease of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou 310003, Zhejiang Province, China
- Innovation Center for the Study of Pancreatic Diseases of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou 310003, Zhejiang Province, China
- Zhejiang Clinical Research Center of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Diseases, Hangzhou 310003, Zhejiang Province, China
| | - Ting-Bo Liang
- Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, the First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310003, Zhejiang Province, China
- Key Laboratory of Pancreatic Disease of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou 310003, Zhejiang Province, China
- Innovation Center for the Study of Pancreatic Diseases of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou 310003, Zhejiang Province, China
- Zhejiang Clinical Research Center of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Diseases, Hangzhou 310003, Zhejiang Province, China
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24
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Yang L, George J, Wang J. Deep Profiling of Cellular Heterogeneity by Emerging Single-Cell Proteomic Technologies. Proteomics 2020; 20:e1900226. [PMID: 31729152 PMCID: PMC7225074 DOI: 10.1002/pmic.201900226] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2019] [Revised: 10/14/2019] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
The ability to comprehensively profile cellular heterogeneity in functional proteome is crucial in advancing the understanding of cell behavior, organism development, and disease mechanisms. Conventional bulk measurement by averaging the biological responses across a population often loses the information of cellular variations. Single-cell proteomic technologies are becoming increasingly important to understand and discern cellular heterogeneity. The well-established methods for single-cell protein analysis based on flow cytometry and fluorescence microscopy are limited by the low multiplexing ability owing to the spectra overlap of fluorophores for labeling antibodies. Recent advances in mass spectrometry (MS), microchip, and reiterative staining-based techniques for single-cell proteomics have enabled the evaluation of cellular heterogeneity with high throughput, increased multiplexity, and improved sensitivity. In this review, the principles, developments, advantages, and limitations of these advanced technologies in analysis of single-cell proteins, along with their biological applications to study cellular heterogeneity, are described. At last, the remaining challenges, possible strategies, and future opportunities that will facilitate the improvement and broad applications of single-cell proteomic technologies in cell biology and medical research are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liwei Yang
- Multiplex Biotechnology Laboratory, Department of Biomedical Engineering, State University of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, NY 11794
| | - Justin George
- Department of Chemistry, State University of New York, University at Albany, Albany, NY 12222
| | - Jun Wang
- Multiplex Biotechnology Laboratory, Department of Biomedical Engineering, State University of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, NY 11794
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25
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Tan KY, Herr AE. Ferguson analysis of protein electromigration during single-cell electrophoresis in an open microfluidic device. Analyst 2020; 145:3732-3741. [PMID: 32347219 PMCID: PMC7336862 DOI: 10.1039/c9an02553g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
In an open microfluidic device, we investigate protein polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) separation performance on single-cell lysate. Single-cell protein electrophoresis is performed in a thin layer of polyacrylamide (PA) gel into which microwells are molded. Individual cells are isolated in these open microwells, then lysed on-chip with a dual lysis and electrophoresis sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) buffer. We scrutinize the effect of sieving gel composition on electromigration of protein targets, using a wide range of cellular protein standards (36 kDa to 289 kDa). We find that as PA concentration increases, protein electromigration deviates from the empirical log-linear relationship predicted between migration distance and molecular mass. We perform Ferguson analysis to calculate retardation coefficients and free solution mobilities of nine cellular protein standards and observe that the largest-molecular-mass protein, mTOR (289 kDa), does not behave as predicted by established linear-fit models for SDS-denatured proteins, indicating that mTOR is beyond the linear range of this assay. Lastly, we performed in-gel immunoprobing on the single-cell electrophoretic separations and observed that smaller pore-size gels (higher gel concentration) reduce protein diffusion out of the gel, which does not notably impact the measured immunoprobed protein expression. Compared to larger pore-size gels, the smaller pore-size gels lead to higher local concentrations of the target protein in each protein band, resulting in an increase in the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) for each protein. Understanding the separation and immunoprobing performance at different gel concentrations improves assay design and optimization for target proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristine Y Tan
- The UC Berkeley - UCSF Graduate Program in Bioengineering, 94720 Berkeley, USA.
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Liu L, Chen D, Wang J, Chen J. Advances of Single-Cell Protein Analysis. Cells 2020; 9:E1271. [PMID: 32443882 PMCID: PMC7290353 DOI: 10.3390/cells9051271] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2020] [Revised: 05/14/2020] [Accepted: 05/18/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Proteins play a significant role in the key activities of cells. Single-cell protein analysis provides crucial insights in studying cellular heterogeneities. However, the low abundance and enormous complexity of the proteome posit challenges in analyzing protein expressions at the single-cell level. This review summarizes recent advances of various approaches to single-cell protein analysis. We begin by discussing conventional characterization approaches, including fluorescence flow cytometry, mass cytometry, enzyme-linked immunospot assay, and capillary electrophoresis. We then detail the landmark advances of microfluidic approaches for analyzing single-cell protein expressions, including microfluidic fluorescent flow cytometry, droplet-based microfluidics, microwell-based assay (microengraving), microchamber-based assay (barcoding microchips), and single-cell Western blotting, among which the advantages and limitations are compared. Looking forward, we discuss future research opportunities and challenges for multiplexity, analyte, throughput, and sensitivity of the microfluidic approaches, which we believe will prompt the research of single-cell proteins such as the molecular mechanism of cell biology, as well as the clinical applications for tumor treatment and drug development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lixing Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Transducer Technology, Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China; (L.L.); (D.C.)
- School of Electronic, Electrical and Communication Engineering, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Deyong Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Transducer Technology, Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China; (L.L.); (D.C.)
- School of Electronic, Electrical and Communication Engineering, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
- School of Future Technologies, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Junbo Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Transducer Technology, Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China; (L.L.); (D.C.)
- School of Electronic, Electrical and Communication Engineering, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
- School of Future Technologies, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Jian Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Transducer Technology, Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China; (L.L.); (D.C.)
- School of Electronic, Electrical and Communication Engineering, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
- School of Future Technologies, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
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Rosàs-Canyelles E, Modzelewski AJ, Geldert A, He L, Herr AE. Assessing heterogeneity among single embryos and single blastomeres using open microfluidic design. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2020; 6:eaay1751. [PMID: 32494630 PMCID: PMC7176412 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aay1751] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2019] [Accepted: 01/28/2020] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
The process by which a zygote develops from a single cell into a multicellular organism is poorly understood. Advances are hindered by detection specificity and sensitivity limitations of single-cell protein tools and by challenges in integrating multimodal data. We introduce an open microfluidic tool expressly designed for same-cell phenotypic, protein, and mRNA profiling. We examine difficult-to-study-yet critically important-murine preimplantation embryo stages. In blastomeres dissociated from less well-studied two-cell embryos, we observe no significant GADD45a protein expression heterogeneity, apparent at the four-cell stage. In oocytes, we detect differences in full-length versus truncated DICER-1 mRNA and protein, which are insignificant by the two-cell stage. Single-embryo analyses reveal intraembryonic heterogeneity, differences between embryos of the same fertilization event and between donors, and reductions in the burden of animal sacrifice. Open microfluidic design integrates with existing workflows and opens new avenues for assessing the cellular-to-molecular heterogeneity inherent to preimplantation embryo development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elisabet Rosàs-Canyelles
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
- The University of California Berkeley and University of California San Francisco Graduate Program in Bioengineering, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Andrew J. Modzelewski
- Division of Cellular and Developmental Biology, Department of Molecular & Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Alisha Geldert
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
- The University of California Berkeley and University of California San Francisco Graduate Program in Bioengineering, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Lin He
- Division of Cellular and Developmental Biology, Department of Molecular & Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Amy E. Herr
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
- The University of California Berkeley and University of California San Francisco Graduate Program in Bioengineering, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
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Xu X, Wang J, Wu L, Guo J, Song Y, Tian T, Wang W, Zhu Z, Yang C. Microfluidic Single-Cell Omics Analysis. SMALL (WEINHEIM AN DER BERGSTRASSE, GERMANY) 2020; 16:e1903905. [PMID: 31544338 DOI: 10.1002/smll.201903905] [Citation(s) in RCA: 70] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2019] [Revised: 08/26/2019] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
The commonly existing cellular heterogeneity plays a critical role in biological processes such as embryonic development, cell differentiation, and disease progress. Single-cell omics-based heterogeneous studies have great significance for identifying different cell populations, discovering new cell types, revealing informative cell features, and uncovering significant interrelationships between cells. Recently, microfluidics has evolved to be a powerful technology for single-cell omics analysis due to its merits of throughput, sensitivity, and accuracy. Herein, the recent advances of microfluidic single-cell omics analysis, including different microfluidic platform designs, lysis strategies, and omics analysis techniques, are reviewed. Representative applications of microfluidic single-cell omics analysis in complex biological studies are then summarized. Finally, a few perspectives on the future challenges and development trends of microfluidic-assisted single-cell omics analysis are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xing Xu
- The MOE Key Laboratory of Spectrochemical Analysis and Instrumentation, The Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology of Fujian Province, State Key Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces, Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials, Department of Chemical Biology, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361005, China
| | - Junxia Wang
- The MOE Key Laboratory of Spectrochemical Analysis and Instrumentation, The Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology of Fujian Province, State Key Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces, Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials, Department of Chemical Biology, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361005, China
| | - Lingling Wu
- Institute of Molecular Medicine, Renji Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200127, China
| | - Jingjing Guo
- The MOE Key Laboratory of Spectrochemical Analysis and Instrumentation, The Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology of Fujian Province, State Key Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces, Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials, Department of Chemical Biology, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361005, China
| | - Yanling Song
- Institute of Molecular Medicine, Renji Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200127, China
| | - Tian Tian
- The MOE Key Laboratory of Spectrochemical Analysis and Instrumentation, The Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology of Fujian Province, State Key Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces, Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials, Department of Chemical Biology, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361005, China
| | - Wei Wang
- Institute of Molecular Medicine, Renji Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200127, China
| | - Zhi Zhu
- The MOE Key Laboratory of Spectrochemical Analysis and Instrumentation, The Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology of Fujian Province, State Key Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces, Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials, Department of Chemical Biology, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361005, China
| | - Chaoyong Yang
- The MOE Key Laboratory of Spectrochemical Analysis and Instrumentation, The Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology of Fujian Province, State Key Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces, Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials, Department of Chemical Biology, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361005, China
- Institute of Molecular Medicine, Renji Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200127, China
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Su EJ, Jeeawoody S, Herr AE. Protein diffusion from microwells with contrasting hydrogel domains. APL Bioeng 2019; 3:026101. [PMID: 31069338 PMCID: PMC6481738 DOI: 10.1063/1.5078650] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2018] [Accepted: 04/03/2019] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding and controlling molecular transport in hydrogel materials is important for biomedical tools, including engineered tissues and drug delivery, as well as life sciences tools for single-cell analysis. Here, we scrutinize the ability of microwells-micromolded in hydrogel slabs-to compartmentalize lysate from single cells. We consider both (i) microwells that are "open" to a large fluid (i.e., liquid) reservoir and (ii) microwells that are "closed," having been capped with either a slab of high-density polyacrylamide gel or an impermeable glass slide. We use numerical modeling to gain insight into the sensitivity of time-dependent protein concentration distributions on hydrogel partition and protein diffusion coefficients and open and closed microwell configurations. We are primarily concerned with diffusion-driven protein loss from the microwell cavity. Even for closed microwells, confocal fluorescence microscopy reports that a fluid (i.e., liquid) film forms between the hydrogel slabs (median thickness of 1.7 μm). Proteins diffuse from the microwells and into the fluid (i.e., liquid) layer, yet concentration distributions are sensitive to the lid layer partition coefficients and the protein diffusion coefficient. The application of a glass lid or a dense hydrogel retains protein in the microwell, increasing the protein solute concentration in the microwell by ∼7-fold for the first 15 s. Using triggered release of Protein G from microparticles, we validate our simulations by characterizing protein diffusion in a microwell capped with a high-density polyacrylamide gel lid (p > 0.05, Kolmogorov-Smirnov test). Here, we establish and validate a numerical model useful for understanding protein transport in and losses from a hydrogel microwell across a range of boundary conditions.
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Sinkala E, Rosàs-Canyelles E, Herr AE. Single-cell mobility shift electrophoresis reports protein localization to the cell membrane. Analyst 2019; 144:972-979. [PMID: 30234203 DOI: 10.1039/c8an01441h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
While profiling of cell surface receptors grants valuable insight on cell phenotype, surface receptors alone cannot fully describe activated downstream signaling pathways, detect internalized receptor activity, or indicate constitutively active signaling in subcellular compartments. To measure surface-bound and intracellular targets in the same cell, we introduce a tandem single-cell assay that combines immunofluorescence of surface-bound epithelial cellular adhesion molecule (EpCAM) with subsequent protein polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) of unfixed MCF7 breast cancer cells. After surface staining and cell lysis, surface EpCAM is analyzed by single-cell PAGE, concurrent with immunoprobing of intracellular targets. Consequently, the single-cell electrophoresis step reports localization of both surface and intracellular targets. Unbound intracellular EpCAM is readily resolved from surface EpCAM immunocomplex owing to a ∼30% mobility shift. Flow cytometry and immunofluorescence are in concordance with single-cell PAGE. Lastly, we challenged the stability of the EpCAM immunocomplexes by varying ionic and non-ionic component concentrations in the lysis buffer, the lysis time, and electrophoresis duration. As expected, the harsher conditions proved most disruptive to the immunocomplexes. The compatibility of live-cell immunostaining with single-cell PAGE eliminates the need to perform single-cell imaging by condensing read-out of both surface-bound proteins (as low mobility immune complexes) and intracellular targets to a single immunoblot, thus linking cell type and state.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elly Sinkala
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Berkeley, 94720 Berkeley, USA.
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Abstract
Single-cell omics studies provide unique information regarding cellular heterogeneity at various levels of the molecular biology central dogma. This knowledge facilitates a deeper understanding of how underlying molecular and architectural changes alter cell behavior, development, and disease processes. The emerging microchip-based tools for single-cell omics analysis are enabling the evaluation of cellular omics with high throughput, improved sensitivity, and reduced cost. We review state-of-the-art microchip platforms for profiling genomics, epigenomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and multi-omics at single-cell resolution. We also discuss the background of and challenges in the analysis of each molecular layer and integration of multiple levels of omics data, as well as how microchip-based methodologies benefit these fields. Additionally, we examine the advantages and limitations of these approaches. Looking forward, we describe additional challenges and future opportunities that will facilitate the improvement and broad adoption of single-cell omics in life science and medicine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanxiang Deng
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06511, USA; , ,
| | - Amanda Finck
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06511, USA; , ,
| | - Rong Fan
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06511, USA; , ,
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Affiliation(s)
- Gongchen Sun
- School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering , Georgia Institute of Technology , Atlanta , Georgia 30332 , United States
| | - Hang Lu
- School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering , Georgia Institute of Technology , Atlanta , Georgia 30332 , United States
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Pan Q, Yamauchi KA, Herr AE. Controlling Dispersion during Single-Cell Polyacrylamide-Gel Electrophoresis in Open Microfluidic Devices. Anal Chem 2018; 90:13419-13426. [PMID: 30346747 PMCID: PMC6777840 DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.8b03233] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
New tools for measuring protein expression in individual cells complement single-cell genomics and transcriptomics. To characterize a population of individual mammalian cells, hundreds to thousands of microwells are arrayed on a polyacrylamide-gel-coated glass microscope slide. In this "open" fluidic device format, we explore the feasibility of mitigating diffusional losses during lysis and polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis (PAGE) through spatial control of the pore-size of the gel layer. To reduce in-plane diffusion-driven dilution of each single-cell lysate during in-microwell chemical lysis, we photopattern and characterize microwells with small-pore-size sidewalls ringing the microwell except at the injection region. To reduce out-of-plane-diffusion-driven-dilution-caused signal loss during both lysis and single-cell PAGE, we scrutinize a selectively permeable agarose lid layer. To reduce injection dispersion, we photopattern and study a stacking-gel feature at the head of each <1 mm separation axis. Lastly, we explore a semienclosed device design that reduces the cross-sectional area of the chip, thus reducing Joule-heating-induced dispersion during single-cell PAGE. As a result, we observed a 3-fold increase in separation resolution during a 30 s separation and a >2-fold enhancement of the signal-to-noise ratio. We present well-integrated strategies for enhancing overall single-cell-PAGE performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qiong Pan
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
| | - Kevin A. Yamauchi
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
| | - Amy E. Herr
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
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Single-Cell High-Resolution Detection and Quantification of Protein Isoforms Differing by a Single Charge Unit. Methods Mol Biol 2018. [PMID: 30426445 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4939-8793-1_44] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register]
Abstract
Isoelectric focusing (IEF) is an electrophoretic technique that enables the separation of proteins based on their isoelectric points. Until recently, this valuable method was not feasible for single-cell applications, which are necessary to interrogate heterogeneous cell populations. Herein we highlight a recently published method enabling the analysis of single-cell proteomics, which utilizes microfluidics coupled with IEF, photocapture, and immunoprobing of the protein in the same micro-gel, which can be stripped and reprobed multiple times.
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Microfluidic Analyzer Enabling Quantitative Measurements of Specific Intracellular Proteins at the Single-Cell Level. MICROMACHINES 2018; 9:mi9110588. [PMID: 30424565 PMCID: PMC6265747 DOI: 10.3390/mi9110588] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2018] [Revised: 11/02/2018] [Accepted: 11/08/2018] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
This paper presents a microfluidic instrument capable of quantifying single-cell specific intracellular proteins, which are composed of three functioning modules and two software platforms. Under the control of a LabVIEW platform, a pressure module flushed cells stained with fluorescent antibodies through a microfluidic module with fluorescent intensities quantified by a fluorescent module and translated into the numbers of specific intracellular proteins at the single-cell level using a MATLAB platform. Detection ranges and resolutions of the analyzer were characterized as 896.78–6.78 × 105 and 334.60 nM for Alexa 488, 314.60–2.11 × 105 and 153.98 nM for FITC, and 77.03–5.24 × 104 and 37.17 nM for FITC-labelled anti-beta-actin antibodies. As a demonstration, the numbers of single-cell beta-actins of two paired oral tumor cell types and two oral patient samples were quantified as: 1.12 ± 0.77 × 106/cell (salivary adenoid cystic carcinoma parental cell line (SACC-83), ncell = 13,689) vs. 0.90 ± 0.58 × 105/cell (salivary adenoid cystic carcinoma lung metastasis cell line (SACC-LM), ncell = 15,341); 0.89 ± 0.69 × 106/cell (oral carcinoma cell line (CAL 27), ncell = 7357) vs. 0.93 ± 0.69 × 106/cell (oral carcinoma lymphatic metastasis cell line (CAL 27-LN2), ncell = 6276); and 0.86 ± 0.52 × 106/cell (patient I) vs. 0.85 ± 0.58 × 106/cell (patient II). These results (1) validated the developed analyzer with a throughput of 10 cells/s and a processing capability of ~10,000 cells for each cell type, and (2) revealed that as an internal control in cell analysis, the expressions of beta-actins remained stable in oral tumors with different malignant levels.
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Kim JJ, Chan PPY, Vlassakis J, Geldert A, Herr AE. Microparticle Delivery of Protein Markers for Single-Cell Western Blotting from Microwells. SMALL (WEINHEIM AN DER BERGSTRASSE, GERMANY) 2018; 14:e1802865. [PMID: 30334351 PMCID: PMC6272123 DOI: 10.1002/smll.201802865] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2018] [Revised: 09/12/2018] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
Immunoblotting confers protein identification specificity beyond that of immunoassays by prepending protein electrophoresis (sizing) to immunoprobing. To accurately size protein targets, sample analysis includes concurrent analysis of protein markers with known molecular masses. To incorporate protein markers in single-cell western blotting, microwells are used to isolate individual cells and protein marker-coated microparticles. A magnetic field directs protein-coated microparticles to >75% of microwells, so as to 1) deliver a quantum of protein marker to each cell-laden microwell and 2) synchronize protein marker solubilization with cell lysis. Nickel-coated microparticles are designed, fabricated, and characterized, each conjugated with a mixture of histidine-tagged proteins (42.3-100 kDa). Imidazole in the cell lysis buffer solubilizes protein markers during a 30 s cell lysis step, with an observed protein marker release half-life of 4.46 s. Across hundreds of individual microwells and different microdevices, robust log-linear regression fits (R2 > 0.97) of protein molecular mass and electrophoretic mobility are observed. The protein marker and microparticle system is applied to determine the molecular masses of five endogenous proteins in breast cancer cells (GAPDH, β-TUB, CK8, STAT3, ER-α), with <20% mass error. Microparticle-delivered protein standards underpin robust, reproducible electrophoretic cytometry that complements single-cell genomics and transcriptomics.
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Affiliation(s)
- John J. Kim
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA; UCB-UCSF Graduate Program in Bioengineering, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Peggy P. Y. Chan
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA; Faculty of Science Engineering & Technology, Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, VIC 3122, Australia
| | - Julea Vlassakis
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA; UCB-UCSF Graduate Program in Bioengineering, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Alisha Geldert
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA; UCB-UCSF Graduate Program in Bioengineering, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Amy E. Herr
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA, ; UCB-UCSF Graduate Program in Bioengineering, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA; Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
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Mincarelli L, Lister A, Lipscombe J, Macaulay IC. Defining Cell Identity with Single-Cell Omics. Proteomics 2018; 18:e1700312. [PMID: 29644800 PMCID: PMC6175476 DOI: 10.1002/pmic.201700312] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2018] [Revised: 03/23/2018] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Abstract
Cells are a fundamental unit of life, and the ability to study the phenotypes and behaviors of individual cells is crucial to understanding the workings of complex biological systems. Cell phenotypes (epigenomic, transcriptomic, proteomic, and metabolomic) exhibit dramatic heterogeneity between and within the different cell types and states underlying cellular functional diversity. Cell genotypes can also display heterogeneity throughout an organism, in the form of somatic genetic variation-most notably in the emergence and evolution of tumors. Recent technical advances in single-cell isolation and the development of omics approaches sensitive enough to reveal these aspects of cell identity have enabled a revolution in the study of multicellular systems. In this review, we discuss the technologies available to resolve the genomes, epigenomes, transcriptomes, proteomes, and metabolomes of single cells from a wide variety of living systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Mincarelli
- Earlham InstituteNorwich Research ParkNorwichNR4 7UZUnited Kingdom
| | - Ashleigh Lister
- Earlham InstituteNorwich Research ParkNorwichNR4 7UZUnited Kingdom
| | - James Lipscombe
- Earlham InstituteNorwich Research ParkNorwichNR4 7UZUnited Kingdom
| | - Iain C. Macaulay
- Earlham InstituteNorwich Research ParkNorwichNR4 7UZUnited Kingdom
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38
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Wang Y, Du R, Qiao L, Liu B. Ultrasensitive profiling of multiple biomarkers from single cells by signal amplification mass spectrometry. Chem Commun (Camb) 2018; 54:9659-9662. [PMID: 30101261 DOI: 10.1039/c8cc05308a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
A signal amplification protocol based on mass spectrometry (MS) was developed to profile simultaneously multiple biomarkers from a single cell using various mass label (ML)-modified Au nanoparticles (AuNPs). The strategy with ultrahigh sensitivity and specificity has potential prospects in the deep exploration of molecular and cellular characterization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuning Wang
- Department of Chemistry, Shanghai Stomatological Hospital, and State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
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39
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Tentori AM, Nagarajan MB, Kim JJ, Zhang WC, Slack FJ, Doyle PS. Quantitative and multiplex microRNA assays from unprocessed cells in isolated nanoliter well arrays. LAB ON A CHIP 2018; 18:2410-2424. [PMID: 29998262 PMCID: PMC6081239 DOI: 10.1039/c8lc00498f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have recently emerged as promising biomarkers for the profiling of diseases. Translation of miRNA biomarkers to clinical practice, however, remains a challenge due to the lack of analysis platforms for sensitive, quantitative, and multiplex miRNA assays that have simple and robust workflows suitable for translation. The platform we present here utilizes functionalized hydrogel posts contained within isolated nanoliter well reactors for quantitative and multiplex assays directly from unprocessed cell samples without the need of prior nucleic acid extraction. Simultaneous reactor isolation and delivery of miRNA extraction reagents is achieved by sealing an array of wells containing the functionalized hydrogel posts and cells against another array of wells containing lysis and extraction reagents. The nanoliter well array platform features >100× better sensitivity compared to previous technology utilizing hydrogel particles without relying on signal amplification and enables >100 parallel assays in a single device. These advances provided by this platform lay the groundwork for translatable and robust analysis technologies for miRNA expression profiling in samples with small populations of cells and in precious, material-limited samples.
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Affiliation(s)
- Augusto M. Tentori
- Department of Chemical Engineering
, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
,
Cambridge
, USA
.
; Tel: +1 617 253 4534
| | - Maxwell B. Nagarajan
- Department of Chemical Engineering
, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
,
Cambridge
, USA
.
; Tel: +1 617 253 4534
| | - Jae Jung Kim
- Department of Chemical Engineering
, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
,
Cambridge
, USA
.
; Tel: +1 617 253 4534
| | - Wen Cai Zhang
- Department of Pathology
, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center/Harvard Medical School
,
Boston
, USA
| | - Frank J. Slack
- Department of Pathology
, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center/Harvard Medical School
,
Boston
, USA
| | - Patrick S. Doyle
- Department of Chemical Engineering
, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
,
Cambridge
, USA
.
; Tel: +1 617 253 4534
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Wuethrich A, Quirino JP. A decade of microchip electrophoresis for clinical diagnostics - A review of 2008-2017. Anal Chim Acta 2018; 1045:42-66. [PMID: 30454573 DOI: 10.1016/j.aca.2018.08.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2018] [Revised: 07/30/2018] [Accepted: 08/03/2018] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
A core element in clinical diagnostics is the data interpretation obtained through the analysis of patient samples. To obtain relevant and reliable information, a methodological approach of sample preparation, separation, and detection is required. Traditionally, these steps are performed independently and stepwise. Microchip capillary electrophoresis (MCE) can provide rapid and high-resolution separation with the capability to integrate a streamlined and complete diagnostic workflow suitable for the point-of-care setting. Whilst standard clinical diagnostics methods normally require hours to days to retrieve specific patient data, MCE can reduce the time to minutes, hastening the delivery of treatment options for the patients. This review covers the advances in MCE for disease detection from 2008 to 2017. Miniaturised diagnostic approaches that required an electrophoretic separation step prior to the detection of the biological samples are reviewed. In the two main sections, the discussion is focused on the technical set-up used to suit MCE for disease detection and on the strategies that have been applied to study various diseases. Throughout these discussions MCE is compared to other techniques to create context of the potential and challenges of MCE. A comprehensive table categorised based on the studied disease using MCE is provided. We also comment on future challenges that remain to be addressed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alain Wuethrich
- Centre for Personalised Nanomedicine, Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN), University of Queensland, Building 75, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Joselito P Quirino
- Australian Centre for Research on Separation Science (ACROSS), School of Physical Sciences-Chemistry, University of Tasmania, Private Bag 75, Hobart, TAS, 7001, Australia.
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Rosàs-Canyelles E, Dai T, Li S, Herr AE. Mouse-to-mouse variation in maturation heterogeneity of smooth muscle cells. LAB ON A CHIP 2018; 18:1875-1883. [PMID: 29796562 PMCID: PMC6019577 DOI: 10.1039/c8lc00216a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Smooth muscle cell (SMC) heterogeneity plays an important role in vascular remodeling, a life-threatening hallmark of many vascular diseases. However, the characterization of SMCs at the single-cell level is stymied by drawbacks of contemporary single-cell protein measurements, including antibody probe cross-reactivity, chemical fixation artifacts, limited isoform-specific probes, low multiplexing and difficulty sampling cells with irregular morphologies. To scrutinize healthy vessels for subpopulations of SMCs with proliferative-like phenotypes, we developed a high-specificity, multiplexed single-cell immunoblotting cytometry tool for unfixed, uncultured primary cells. We applied our assay to demonstrate maturation stage profiling of aortic SMCs freshly isolated from individual mice. After ensuring unbiased sampling of SMCs (80-120 μm in length), we performed single-SMC electrophoretic protein separations, which resolve protein signal from off-target antibody binding, and immunoblotted for differentiation markers α-SMA, CNN-1 and SMMHC (targets ranging from 34 kDa to 227 kDa). We identified a subpopulation of immature-like SMCs, supporting the recently-established mechanism that only a subset of SMCs is responsible for vascular remodeling. Furthermore, the low sample requirements of our assay enable single-mouse resolution studies, which minimizes animal sacrifice and experimental costs while reporting animal-to-animal phenotypic variation, essential for achieving reproducibility and surmounting the drawbacks of pooling primary cells from different animals.
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Kang CC, Ward TM, Bockhorn J, Schiffman C, Huang H, Pegram MD, Herr AE. Electrophoretic cytopathology resolves ERBB2 forms with single-cell resolution. NPJ Precis Oncol 2018; 2:10. [PMID: 29872719 PMCID: PMC5871910 DOI: 10.1038/s41698-018-0052-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2017] [Revised: 02/10/2018] [Accepted: 02/20/2018] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
In addition to canonical oncoproteins, truncated isoforms and proteolysis products are implicated in both drug resistance and disease progression. In HER2-positive breast tumors, expression of truncated HER2 isoforms resulting from alternative translation and/or carboxy-terminal fragments (CTFs) resulting from proteolysis (collectively, t-erbB2) have been associated with shortened progression-free survival of patients. Thus, to advance clinical pathology and inform treatment decisions, we developed a high-selectivity cytopathology assay capable of distinguishing t-erbB2 from full-length HER2 expression without the need for isoform-specific antibodies. Our microfluidic, single-cell western blot, employs electrophoretic separations to resolve full-length HER2 from the smaller t-erbB2 in each ~28 pL single-cell lysate. Subsequently, a pan-HER2 antibody detects all resolved HER2 protein forms via immunoprobing. In analysis of eight breast tumor biopsies, we identified two tumors comprised of 15% and 40% t-erbB2-expressing cells. By single-cell western blotting of the t-erbB2-expressing cells, we observed statistically different ratios of t-erbB2 proteins to full-length HER2 expression. Further, target multiplexing and clustering analyses scrutinized signaling, including ribosomal S6, within the t-erbB2-expressing cell subpopulation. Taken together, cytometric assays that report both protein isoform profiles and signaling state offer cancer classification taxonomies with unique relevance to precisely describing drug resistance mechanisms in which oncoprotein isoforms/fragments are implicated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chi-Chih Kang
- 1Department of Bioengineering, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720 USA
| | - Toby M Ward
- 2Division of Medical Oncology, Department of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305 USA
| | - Jessica Bockhorn
- 2Division of Medical Oncology, Department of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305 USA
| | - Courtney Schiffman
- 3Division of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720 USA
| | - Haiyan Huang
- 4Department of Statistics, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720 USA
| | - Mark D Pegram
- 2Division of Medical Oncology, Department of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305 USA
| | - Amy E Herr
- 1Department of Bioengineering, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720 USA
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Single-cell technologies for profiling T cells to enable monitoring of immunotherapies. Curr Opin Chem Eng 2018; 19:142-152. [PMID: 31131208 DOI: 10.1016/j.coche.2018.01.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Immunotherapy relies on the reinvigoration of immune system to combat diseases and has transformed the landscape of cancer treatments. Clinical trials using immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI), and adoptive transfer of genetically modified T cells have demonstrated durable remissions in subsets of cancer patients. A comprehensive understanding of the polyfunctionality of T lymphocytes in ICI or adoptive cell transfer (ACT), at single-cell resolution, will quantify T-cell properties that are essential for therapeutic benefit. We briefly highlight several emerging integrated single-cell technologies focusing on the profiling of multiple properties/functionalities of T cells. We envision that these tools have the potential to provide valuable experimental and clinical insights on T-cell biology, and eventually pave the road for the discovery of surrogate T-cell biomarkers for immunotherapy.
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Lin JMG, Kang CC, Zhou Y, Huang H, Herr AE, Kumar S. Linking invasive motility to protein expression in single tumor cells. LAB ON A CHIP 2018; 18:371-384. [PMID: 29299576 PMCID: PMC5771853 DOI: 10.1039/c7lc01008g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
The invasion of malignant cells into tissue is a critical step in the progression of cancer. While it is increasingly appreciated that cells within a tumor differ in their invasive potential, it remains nearly unknown how these differences relate to cell-to-cell variations in protein expression. Here, we introduce a microfluidic platform that integrates measurements of invasive motility and protein expression for single cells, which we use to scrutinize human glioblastoma tumor-initiating cells (TICs). Our live-cell imaging microdevice is comprised of polyacrylamide microchannels that exhibit tissue-like stiffness and present chemokine gradients along each channel. Due to intrinsic differences in motility, cell subpopulations separate along the channel axis. The separated cells are then lysed in situ and each single-cell lysate is subjected to western blotting in the surrounding polyacrylamide matrix. We observe correlations between motility and Nestin and EphA2 expression. We identify protein-protein correlations within single TICs, which would be obscured with population-based assays. The integration of motility traits with single-cell protein analysis - on the same cell - offers a new means to identify druggable targets of invasive capacity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jung-Ming G Lin
- UC-Berkeley-UCSF Graduate Program in Bioengineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
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Abstract
Cancer immunotherapy fights against cancer by modulating the immune response and is delivering encouraging results in clinical treatments. However, it is challenging to achieve durable response in all cancer patients during treatment due to the diversity and dynamic nature of immune system as well as inter- and intratumor heterogeneity. A comprehensive assessment of system immunity and tumor microenvironment is crucial for effective and safe cancer therapy, which can potentially be resolved by single-cell proteomic analysis. Single-cell proteomic technologies enable system-wide profiling of protein levels in a number of single cells within the immune system and tumor microenvironment, and thereby provide direct assessment of the functional state of the immune cells and tumor-immune interaction that could be used to evaluate efficacy of immunotherapy and to improve clinical outcome. In this chapter, we summarized current single-cell proteomic technologies and their applications in cancer immunotherapy.
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Murphy TW, Zhang Q, Naler LB, Ma S, Lu C. Recent advances in the use of microfluidic technologies for single cell analysis. Analyst 2017; 143:60-80. [PMID: 29170786 PMCID: PMC5839671 DOI: 10.1039/c7an01346a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 103] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
The inherent heterogeneity in cell populations has become of great interest and importance as analytical techniques have improved over the past decades. With the advent of personalized medicine, understanding the impact of this heterogeneity has become an important challenge for the research community. Many different microfluidic approaches with varying levels of throughput and resolution exist to study single cell activity. In this review, we take a broad view of the recent microfluidic developments in single cell analysis based on microwell, microchamber, and droplet platforms. We cover physical, chemical, and molecular biology approaches for cellular and molecular analysis including newly emerging genome-wide analysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Travis W Murphy
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA.
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Abstract
Cell-matrix and cell-cell interactions influence intracellular signalling and play an important role in physiologic and pathologic processes. Detachment of cells from the surrounding microenvironment alters intracellular signalling. Here, we demonstrate and characterise an integrated microfluidic device to culture single and clustered cells in tuneable microenvironments and then directly analyse the lysate of each cell in situ, thereby eliminating the need to detach cells prior to analysis. First, we utilise microcontact printing to pattern cells in confined geometries. We then utilise a microscale isoelectric focusing (IEF) module to separate, detect, and analyse lamin A/C from substrate-adhered cells seeded and cultured at varying (500, 2000, and 9000 cells per cm2) densities. We report separation performance (minimum resolvable pI difference of 0.11) that is on par with capillary IEF and independent of cell density. Moreover, we map lamin A/C and β-tubulin protein expression to morphometric information (cell area, circumference, eccentricity, form factor, and cell area factor) of single cells and observe poor correlation with each of these parameters. By eliminating the need for cell detachment from substrates, we enhance detection of cell receptor proteins (CD44 and β-integrin) and dynamic phosphorylation events (pMLCS19) that are rendered undetectable or disrupted by enzymatic treatments. Finally, we optimise protein solubilisation and separation performance by tuning lysis and electrofocusing (EF) durations. We observe enhanced separation performance (decreased peak width) with longer EF durations by 25.1% and improved protein solubilisation with longer lysis durations. Overall, the combination of morphometric analyses of substrate-adhered cells, with minimised handling, will yield important insights into our understanding of adhesion-mediated signalling processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elaine J Su
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720, USA.
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Pan Q, Herr AE. Geometry-induced injection dispersion in single-cell protein electrophoresis. Anal Chim Acta 2017; 1000:214-222. [PMID: 29289313 DOI: 10.1016/j.aca.2017.11.049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2017] [Revised: 11/15/2017] [Accepted: 11/16/2017] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
Arrays of microwells are widely used to isolate individual cells, facilitate high throughput cytometry assays, and ensure compatibility of those assays with whole-cell imaging. Microwell geometries have recently been utilized for handling and preparation of single-cell lysate, prior to single-cell protein electrophoresis. It is in the context of single-cell electrophoresis that we investigate the interplay of microwell geometry (circular, rectangular, triangular) and transport (diffusion, electromigration) on the subsequent performance of single-cell polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) for protein targets. We define and measure injector-induced dispersion during PAGE, and develop a numerical model of band broadening sources, experimentally validate the numerical model, and then identify operating conditions (characterized through the Peclet number, Pe) that lead to microwell-geometry induced losses in separation performance. With analysis of mammalian cells as a case study, we sought to understand at what Pe is the PAGE separation performance adversely sensitized to the microwell geometry. In developing design rules, we find that for the microwell geometries that are the most suitable for isolation of mammalian cells and moderate mass protein targets, the Pe is usually small enough (Pe < ∼20) to mitigate the effect of the microwell geometry on protein PAGE of single-cell lysate. In extreme cases where the largest mammalian cells are analyzed (Pe > ∼20), consideration of Pe suggests using a rectangular - and not the widely used circular - microwell geometry to maximize protein PAGE separation performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qiong Pan
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, United States
| | - Amy E Herr
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, United States.
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Vlassakis J, Herr AE. Joule Heating-Induced Dispersion in Open Microfluidic Electrophoretic Cytometry. Anal Chem 2017; 89:12787-12796. [PMID: 29110464 DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.7b03096] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
While protein electrophoresis conducted in capillaries and microchannels offers high-resolution separations, such formats can be cumbersome to parallelize for single-cell analysis. One approach for realizing large numbers of concurrent separations is open microfluidics (i.e., no microchannels). In an open microfluidic device adapted for single-cell electrophoresis, we perform 100s to 1000s of simultaneous separations of endogenous proteins. The microscope slide-sized device contains cells isolated in microwells located in a ∼40 μm polyacrylamide gel. The gel supports protein electrophoresis after concurrent in situ chemical lysis of each isolated cell. During electrophoresis, Joule (or resistive) heating degrades separation performance. Joule heating effects are expected to be acute in open microfluidic devices, where a single, high-conductivity buffer expedites the transition from cell lysis to protein electrophoresis. Here, we test three key assertions. First, Joule heating substantially impacts analytical sensitivity due to diffusive losses of protein out of the open microfluidic electrophoretic (EP) cytometry device. Second, increased analyte diffusivity due to autothermal runaway Joule heating is a dominant mechanism that reduces separation resolution in EP cytometry. Finally, buffer exchange reduces diffusive losses and band broadening, even when handling single-cell lysate protein concentrations in an open device. We develop numerical simulations of Joule heating-enhanced diffusion during electrophoresis and observe ∼50% protein loss out of the gel, which is reduced using the buffer exchange. Informed by analytical model predictions of separation resolution (with Joule heating), we empirically demonstrate nearly fully resolved separations of proteins with molecular mass differences of just 4 kDa or 12% (GAPDH, 36 kDa; PS6, 32 kDa) in each of 129 single cells. The attained separation performance with buffer exchange is relevant to detection of currently unmeasurable protein isoforms responsible for cancer progression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julea Vlassakis
- Department of Bioengineering and ‡The UC Berkeley/UCSF Graduate Program in Bioengineering, University of California Berkeley , Berkeley, California 94720, United States
| | - Amy E Herr
- Department of Bioengineering and ‡The UC Berkeley/UCSF Graduate Program in Bioengineering, University of California Berkeley , Berkeley, California 94720, United States
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Mishra M, Tiwari S, Gomes AV. Protein purification and analysis: next generation Western blotting techniques. Expert Rev Proteomics 2017; 14:1037-1053. [PMID: 28974114 DOI: 10.1080/14789450.2017.1388167] [Citation(s) in RCA: 129] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Western blotting is one of the most commonly used techniques in molecular biology and proteomics. Since western blotting is a multistep protocol, variations and errors can occur at any step reducing the reliability and reproducibility of this technique. Recent reports suggest that a few key steps, such as the sample preparation method, the amount and source of primary antibody used, as well as the normalization method utilized, are critical for reproducible western blot results. Areas covered: In this review, improvements in different areas of western blotting, including protein transfer and antibody validation, are summarized. The review discusses the most advanced western blotting techniques available and highlights the relationship between next generation western blotting techniques and its clinical relevance. Expert commentary: Over the last decade significant improvements have been made in creating more sensitive, automated, and advanced techniques by optimizing various aspects of the western blot protocol. New methods such as single cell-resolution western blot, capillary electrophoresis, DigiWest, automated microfluid western blotting and microchip electrophoresis have all been developed to reduce potential problems associated with the western blotting technique. Innovative developments in instrumentation and increased sensitivity for western blots offer novel possibilities for increasing the clinical implications of western blot.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manish Mishra
- a Department of Physiology , University of Saskatchewan College of Medicine , Saskatoon , SK , Canada
| | - Shuchita Tiwari
- b Department of Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior , University of California , Davis , CA , USA
| | - Aldrin V Gomes
- b Department of Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior , University of California , Davis , CA , USA.,c Department of Physiology and Membrane Biology , University of California , Davis , CA , USA
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