Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 15, 2026
Quantitative Mass Spectrometric Profiling of Cancer-cell Proteomes Derived From Liquid and Solid Tumors
Published on: February 27, 2015
Profiling single cancer cell metabolism via high-content SRS imaging with chemical sparsity
Yuying Tan1, Haonan Lin1, Ji-Xin Cheng1,2,3
1Biomedical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA 02155, USA.
Abstract:
Metabolic reprogramming in a subpopulation of cancer cells is a hallmark of tumor chemoresistance. However, single-cell metabolic profiling is difficult because of the lack of a method that can simultaneously detect multiple metabolites at the single-cell level. In this study, through hyperspectral stimulated Raman scattering (hSRS) imaging in the carbon-hydrogen (C-H) window and sparsity-driven hyperspectral image decomposition, we demonstrate a high-content hSRS (h2SRS) imaging approach that enables the simultaneous mapping of five major biomolecules, including proteins, carbohydrates, fatty acids, cholesterol, and nucleic acids at the single-cell level. h2SRS imaging of brain and pancreatic cancer cells under chemotherapy revealed acute and adapted chemotherapy-induced metabolic reprogramming and the unique metabolic features of chemoresistance. Our approach is expected to facilitate the discovery of therapeutic targets to combat chemoresistance. This study illustrates a high-content, label-free chemical imaging approach that measures metabolic profiles at the single-cell level and warrants further research on cellular metabolism.
Insights
Scientists developed a new imaging method to map multiple metabolites within single cancer cells. This technique reveals how cancer cells change their metabolism to resist chemotherapy, aiding the search for new treatments.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Imaging
- Chemical Biology
- Cancer Research
Background:
- Metabolic reprogramming is key to cancer cell chemoresistance.
- Current single-cell metabolic profiling methods lack the ability to detect multiple metabolites simultaneously.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a novel high-content imaging approach for simultaneous single-cell metabolic profiling.
- To investigate chemotherapy-induced metabolic reprogramming and chemoresistance in cancer cells.
Main Methods:
- Utilized hyperspectral stimulated Raman scattering (hSRS) imaging in the C-H window.
- Employed sparsity-driven hyperspectral image decomposition for data analysis.
- Developed a high-content hSRS (h²SRS) imaging technique for simultaneous mapping of five major biomolecules (proteins, carbohydrates, fatty acids, cholesterol, nucleic acids).
Main Results:
- Successfully mapped five major biomolecules at the single-cell level using h²SRS.
- Observed acute and adapted metabolic reprogramming in brain and pancreatic cancer cells during chemotherapy.
- Identified unique metabolic features associated with chemoresistance.
Conclusions:
- The h²SRS imaging approach enables high-content, label-free chemical imaging of single-cell metabolic profiles.
- This method can reveal metabolic adaptations driving cancer chemoresistance.
- The findings are expected to facilitate the discovery of novel therapeutic targets to overcome chemoresistance.
