Department of Surgery, Laboratory for Surgical Research, University of Lübeck, D-23538 Lübeck, Germany.
Mol Med Rep. 2011 Nov-Dec;4(6):1045-51. doi: 10.3892/mmr.2011.566. Epub 2011 Aug 22.
Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) has improved over the years and is increasingly being used for biomarker discovery directly from human tissue sections. State-of-the-art technology currently enables a resolution down to 20 µm. MSI therefore allows the correlation of spatial and temporal protein expression profiles with distinct morphological features without requiring target-specific reagents, such as antibodies. Several studies have demonstrated the strength of the technology for uncovering new markers that correlate with disease severity as well as prognosis and therapeutic response. This review provides an overview of MALDI imaging functionality and its advantages and disadvantages, and provides a current literature overview of malignancy-based biomarker detection. Further improvements on instrumentation sensitivity, image processing and sample preparation will enable the detection of novel, tissue-specific biomarkers. However, emphasis should be given to large validation studies and/or subsequent identification of differentially observed protein peaks in order to transfer MSI protein profiling and/or novel biomarkers thereof into clinical use.
基质辅助激光解吸/电离（MALDI）质谱成像（MSI）近年来取得了进展，越来越多地被用于直接从人体组织切片中发现生物标志物。目前最先进的技术能够实现分辨率达到 20 µm。因此，MSI 允许在不使用靶向试剂（如抗体）的情况下，将时空蛋白质表达谱与不同的形态特征相关联。多项研究表明，该技术在发现与疾病严重程度以及预后和治疗反应相关的新标志物方面具有优势。本文综述了 MALDI 成像功能及其优缺点，并对基于恶性肿瘤的生物标志物检测的当前文献进行了综述。进一步提高仪器灵敏度、图像处理和样品制备将能够检测到新的、组织特异性的生物标志物。然而，应重视大型验证研究和/或随后对差异观察到的蛋白质峰的鉴定，以便将 MSI 蛋白质分析及其新型生物标志物转化为临床应用。
