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Updated: Aug 16, 2026
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Targeted Metabolomics on Rare Primary Cells
Published on: February 23, 2024
A sensitive method for profiling cell-type-specific secretomes of rare cells from complex tissues
Gergana Shipkovenska1, Xuchao Lyu2, Manalee Vishnu Surve1
1Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care, Simches 4, Northeast Corridor, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
Cell Reports Methods
|August 14, 2026
Summary
Researchers developed a new mouse model to study rare cell secretomes. This sensitive method profiles proteins from low-abundance cells, aiding cell communication and biomarker discovery.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Cell Biology
- Proteomics
Background:
- Studying rare cells is challenging due to low abundance.
- Understanding secreted proteins is crucial for cell function and communication.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a novel murine model for profiling secreted proteomes (secretomes) from rare cells.
- To enable the study of physiologically relevant low-abundance cells in complex biological systems.
Main Methods:
- Generation of a genetic secretome mouse model without viral vectors.
- Profiling of secretomes from Kupffer macrophages and airway microfold (M) cells.
- Comparison of secretome data with single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) atlases.
Main Results:
- The model successfully profiled secretomes from rare innate immune cells (Kupffer macrophages, M cells).
- The method demonstrated high sensitivity, capturing cell-specific proteins missed by scRNA-seq.
- The genetic secretome mouse model is made available to the research community.
Conclusions:
- The developed model overcomes the challenge of studying rare cell secretomes.
- This technology facilitates research into cell-to-cell communication and biomarker discovery.
- The model empowers future investigations of secreted protein function in various cell types.
