Unité de Recherche sur les Maladies Infectieuses Tropicales et Emergentes, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement Unité Mixte de Recherche 6236, Université de la Méditerranée, Faculté de Médecine, Marseille, France.
PLoS One. 2010 Oct 27;5(10):e13691. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0013691.
MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry is currently used in microbiological diagnosis to characterize bacterial populations. Our aim was to determine whether this technique could be applied to intact eukaryotic cells, and in particular, to cells involved in the immune response.
METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: A comparison of frozen monocytes, T lymphocytes and polymorphonuclear leukocytes revealed specific peak profiles. We also found that twenty cell types had specific profiles, permitting the establishment of a cell database. The circulating immune cells, namely monocytes, T lymphocytes and polymorphonuclear cells, were distinct from tissue immune cells such as monocyte-derived macrophages and dendritic cells. In addition, MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry was valuable to easily identify the signatures of monocytes and T lymphocytes in peripheral mononuclear cells.
CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: This method was rapid and easy to perform, and unlike flow cytometry, it did not require any additional components such as specific antibodies. The MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry approach could be extended to analyze the cell composition of tissues and the activation state of immune cells.
MALDI-TOF 质谱分析目前用于微生物诊断以描述细菌种群。我们的目的是确定该技术是否可应用于完整的真核细胞，特别是参与免疫反应的细胞。
方法/主要发现：冷冻单核细胞、T 淋巴细胞和多形核白细胞的比较显示出特定的峰谱。我们还发现二十种细胞类型具有特定的图谱，从而建立了细胞数据库。循环免疫细胞，即单核细胞、T 淋巴细胞和多形核细胞，与组织免疫细胞（如单核细胞衍生的巨噬细胞和树突状细胞）不同。此外，MALDI-TOF 质谱分析可用于轻松识别外周单核细胞中单核细胞和 T 淋巴细胞的特征。
结论/意义：该方法快速且易于操作，与流式细胞术不同，它不需要任何其他成分，如特异性抗体。MALDI-TOF 质谱分析方法可扩展用于分析组织中的细胞组成和免疫细胞的激活状态。
