Single-Section Sequential MALDI-MSI Reveals Metabolic and N-Glycan Remodeling During Malignant Transformation in...

Malignant transformation of hepatocellular adenoma (HCA) represents a clinically significant yet incompletely understood process. Although the pathological and clinical characteristics of HCA have been extensively described, its spatial molecular heterogeneity and spatially organized molecular variation at the tissue level remain insufficiently characterized. This study aimed to establish a spatially integrated multi-omics workflow and to delineate spatially organized molecular variation across histologically defined regions from adenoma to carcinoma.

A sequential dual-layer matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry imaging (MALDI-MSI) workflow was developed to acquire small-molecule metabolomic and N-glycan spatial data from the same formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue section. Four rare HCA specimens containing focal carcinoma transformation were included in this study. Pixel-level clustering, region-based co-localization analysis, and diffusion pseudotime modeling were applied to characterize spatial metabolic and N-glycan patterns across normal liver tissue (NL), hepatocellular adenoma (HCA), and carcinoma-transformed regions within adenoma (HCA-HCC).

Small-molecule MSI revealed spatial metabolic stratification within HCA, with variation observed in nucleotide-related, lipid-related, sulfur-related, and sugar nucleotide-associated metabolites. Pseudotime analysis revealed a spatial ordering of samples across NL, HCA, and HCA-HCC regions, showing differences in antioxidant-associated metabolites, lipid-related features, and bile acid-related metabolites across regions. N-glycan MSI identified independent glycosylation niches, with increasing structural complexity and enrichment of highly branched glycans in carcinoma-transformed regions. Integration of metabolomic and glycomic data suggested spatially associated patterns between metabolite features and glycan structures across regions.

This study provides spatially resolved evidence of spatially organized patterns of molecular variation across histologically defined regions of HCA. The identified metabolic and N-glycan gradients provide insights into spatial molecular organization during malignant transformation of hepatocellular adenoma.