IN SITU MASS SPECTROMETRY UNRAVELS METABOLIC DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CELLS OF THE LIVE VERTEBRATE EMBRYO (XENOPUS LAEVIS)

摘要

Metabolomics with single-cell resolution opens new frontiers in the study of cell heterogeneity [1] and establishment of functional differences during embryonic development [2]. Mass spectrometry (MS) is the technology of choice for metabolomics, but sensitivity limitations in detection hinder the application of traditional metabolomics to single embryonic cells. Here, we present a single-cell MS approach that enables the extraction and detection of metabolites from single cells from live Xenopus laevis embryos with high technical and biological reproducibility. We conduct in situ, minimally invasive sampling of identified embryonic cells to peer into metabolic pathways active during early embryogenesis. To enhance metabolite coverage, we integrate anionic and cationic analyses using a custom-built capillary electrophoresis electrospray ionization (CE-ESI) MS platform.