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Updated: Oct 29, 2025

Extraction of Aqueous Metabolites from Cultured Adherent Cells for Metabolomic Analysis by Capillary Electrophoresis-Mass Spectrometry
Published on: June 9, 2019
The intracellular metabolome of starving cells
Sylvère Durand1, Claudia Grajeda-Iglesias1, Fanny Aprahamian1
1Metabolomics and Cell Biology Platforms, Gustave Roussy Comprehensive Cancer Institute, Université Paris Saclay, Villejuif, France; Centre de Recherche des Cordeliers, Équipe 11 Labellisée par la Ligue Contre le Cancer, Université de Paris, Sorbonne Université, Inserm U1138, Institut Universitaire de France, Paris, France.
Abstract:
Fasting induces vast metabolic adaptations on the cellular level and leads to an organism-wide induction of autophagy. Autophagic degradation subserves resource recycling and facilitates the maintenance of energetic homeostasis. Mass spectrometry offers the possibility to assess changes in the metabolome that occur in conditions of nutrient deprivation and to profile such adaptations. Here we describe a detailed workflow for the targeted quantitation and untargeted profiling of metabolites that can be used to assess the intracellular metabolome of starving cells. Moreover, we outline a workflow for the use of non-radioactive isotope labeled metabolites. Altogether, we show that mass spectrometry is a powerful tool for monitoring metabolic changes in conditions of fasting.
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