2 research outputs found
Simultaneous Time-Dependent Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy, Metabolomics, and Proteomics Reveal Cancer Cell Death Mechanisms Associated with Gold Nanorod Photothermal Therapy
In
cancer plasmonic photothermal therapy (PPTT), plasmonic nanoparticles
are used to convert light into localized heat, leading to cancer cell
death. Among plasmonic nanoparticles, gold nanorods (AuNRs) with specific
dimensions enabling them to absorb near-infrared laser light have
been widely used. The detailed mechanism of PPTT therapy, however,
still remains poorly understood. Typically, surface-enhanced Raman
spectroscopy (SERS) has been used to detect time-dependent changes
in the intensity of the vibration frequencies of molecules that appear
or disappear during different cellular processes. A complete proven
assignment of the molecular identity of these vibrations and their
biological importance has not yet been accomplished. Mass spectrometry
(MS) is a powerful technique that is able to accurately identify molecules
in chemical mixtures by observing their <i>m</i>/<i>z</i> values and fragmentation patterns. Here, we complemented
the study of changes in SERS spectra with MS-based metabolomics
and proteomics to identify the chemical species responsible for the
observed changes in SERS band intensities during PPTT. We observed
an increase in intensity of the bands at around 1000, 1207, and 1580
cm<sup>–1</sup>, which were assigned in the literature to phenylalanine,
albeit with dispute. Our metabolomics results showed increased
levels of phenylalanine, its derivatives, and phenylalanine-containing
peptides, providing evidence for more confidence in the SERS peak
assignments. To better understand the mechanism of phenylalanine
increase upon PPTT, we combined metabolomics and proteomics
results through network analysis, which proved that phenylalanine
metabolism was perturbed. Furthermore, several apoptosis pathways
were activated via key proteins (e.g., HADHA and ACAT1), consistent
with the proposed role of altered phenylalanine metabolism in
inducing apoptosis. Our study shows that the integration of the SERS
with MS-based metabolomics and proteomics can assist the assignment
of signals in SERS spectra and further characterize the related molecular
mechanisms of the cellular processes involved in PPTT
Feasibility of Detecting Prostate Cancer by Ultraperformance Liquid Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry Serum Metabolomics
Prostate
cancer (PCa) is the second leading cause of cancer-related
mortality in men. The prevalent diagnosis method is based on the serum
prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening test, which suffers from
low specificity, overdiagnosis, and overtreatment. In
this work, untargeted metabolomic profiling of age-matched serum samples
from prostate cancer patients and healthy individuals was performed
using ultraperformance liquid chromatography coupled to high-resolution
tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) and machine learning methods.
A metabolite-based in vitro diagnostic multivariate index assay
(IVDMIA) was developed to predict the presence of PCa in serum samples
with high classification sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy. A
panel of 40 metabolic spectral features was found to be differential
with 92.1% sensitivity, 94.3% specificity, and 93.0% accuracy. The
performance of the IVDMIA was higher than the prevalent PSA test.
Within the discriminant panel, 31 metabolites were identified by MS
and MS/MS, with 10 further confirmed chromatographically by
standards. Numerous discriminant metabolites were mapped in the steroid
hormone biosynthesis pathway. The identification of fatty acids, amino
acids, lysophospholipids, and bile acids provided further
insights into the metabolic alterations associated with the disease.
With additional work, the results presented here show great potential
toward implementation in clinical settings