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Profiling metabolites and peptides in single cells

Nature Methods volume 8, pages S20–S29 (2011)Cite this article

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Abstract

The intracellular levels and spatial localizations of metabolites and peptides reflect the state of a cell and its relationship to its surrounding environment. Moreover, the amounts and dynamics of metabolites and peptides are indicative of normal or pathological cellular conditions. Here we highlight established and evolving strategies for characterizing the metabolome and peptidome of single cells. Focused studies of the chemical composition of individual cells and functionally defined groups of cells promise to provide a greater understanding of cell fate, function and homeostatic balance. Single-cell bioanalytical microanalysis has also become increasingly valuable for examining cellular heterogeneity, particularly in the fields of neuroscience, stem cell biology and developmental biology.

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Figure 1: Cell-to-cell heterogeneity has many different manifestations and causes.
Figure 2: Single-cell metabolomic and peptidomic analyses involve several processes.
Figure 3: A microfluidic device with functionalized gold surfaces allows chemical stimulation of individual cultured neurons, collection of releasate and characterization of released peptides using off-line MS.
Figure 4: A variety of vacuum-based MS methods have been used for single-cell SCMP investigations.
Figure 5: Video MS can be used to probe the granules from a mast cell and identify histamine by tandem MS.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by award CHE-04-00768 from the US National Science Foundation and P30 DA018310, 5RO1NS031609 and 5RO1DE018866 from the National Institutes of Health. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Science Foundation or National Institutes of Health.

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  1. Department of Chemistry and the Beckman Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, USA

    Stanislav S Rubakhin, Elena V Romanova, Peter Nemes & Jonathan V Sweedler

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Correspondence to Jonathan V Sweedler.

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Rubakhin, S., Romanova, E., Nemes, P. et al. Profiling metabolites and peptides in single cells. Nat Methods 8 (Suppl 4), S20–S29 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/nmeth.1549

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nmeth.1549

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