Probing metabolic states of differentiating stem cells using two-photon FLIM

The ability of stem cells to differentiate into specialized cell types presents a number of opportunities for regenerative medicine, stem cell therapy and developmental biology. Because traditional assessments of stem cells are destructive, time consuming, and logistically intensive, the use of a non-invasive, label-free approach to study of cell differentiation provides a powerful tool for rapid, high-content characterization of cell and tissue cultures. Here, we elucidate the metabolic changes in MSCs during adipogenic differentiation, based on the fluorescence of the metabolic co-factors NADH, NADPH, and FAD using the methods of two-photon fluorescence microscopy combined with FLIM. To estimate the contribution of energy metabolism and lipogenesis in the observed changes of the metabolic profile, a separate analysis of NADH and NADPH is required. In our study we demonstrated, for the first time, an increased contribution of protein-bound NADPH in adipocytes that is associated with lipogenesis. The optical redox ratio FAD/NAD(P)H decreased during adipogenic differentiation, and that this was likely to be explained by the intensive biosynthesis of lipids and the enhanced NADPH production associated with this. Based on the data on the fluorescence lifetime contribution of protein-bound NAD(P)H, we registered a metabolic switch from glycolysis to oxidative phosphorylation in adipocytes.