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Mass Spectrometry Imaging-Based Single-Cell Lipidomics Profiles Metabolic Signatures of Heart Failure
Jie Ren1, Hao-Wen Li2,3, Liang Chen1
1State Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Disease, Fuwai Hospital, National Center for Cardiovascular Disease, Chinese Academy of Medicine Science (CAMS) and Perking Union Medical College (PUMC), Beijing, 100037, P. R. China.
Research (Washington, D.C.)
|April 11, 2023
Summary
This study identifies unique lipid signatures in single heart failure (HF) cardiomyocytes using mass spectrometry imaging. These findings offer potential single-cell biomarkers for diagnosing HF and understanding its metabolic basis.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Biology
- Metabolomics
- Biomarker Discovery
Background:
- Heart failure (HF) is a major global health concern with high mortality rates.
- Metabolic remodeling in cardiomyocytes is crucial for HF progression.
- Current metabolic analyses face limitations due to metabolite dynamics and the need for high-quality isolated cells.
Purpose of the Study:
- To profile the lipid landscape of individual cardiomyocytes from HF mouse models.
- To identify specific metabolic signatures associated with HF at the single-cell level.
- To understand the spatial distribution and functional relevance of these HF-associated metabolic signatures.
Main Methods:
- Direct isolation of high-quality cardiomyocytes from transgenic HF mouse biopsies.
- Lipid profiling of individual cardiomyocytes using time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry with delayed extraction.
- Mass spectrometry imaging to visualize spatial distribution of metabolic signatures within single cells.
Main Results:
- Identification of distinct lipidomic signatures differentiating HF cardiomyocytes from control subjects.
- Discovery of potential single-cell biomarkers for HF detection.
- Association of identified signatures with lipoprotein metabolism, transmembrane transport, and signal transduction pathways.
Conclusions:
- Mass spectrometry imaging of single cardiomyocytes provides a powerful approach to study HF pathogenesis.
- The identified HF-associated lipid signatures offer insights into disease-specific metabolic alterations.
- This study advances the understanding of lipid metabolism in HF at the single-cell resolution.

