Laboratory of Cellular Metabolism and Metabolic Regulation, VIB-KU Leuven Center for Cancer Biology, VIB, Leuven, Belgium; Laboratory of Cellular Metabolism and Metabolic Regulation, Department of Oncology, KU Leuven and Leuven Cancer Institute (LKI), Leuven, Belgium.
Laboratory of Cellular Metabolism and Metabolic Regulation, VIB-KU Leuven Center for Cancer Biology, VIB, Leuven, Belgium; Laboratory of Cellular Metabolism and Metabolic Regulation, Department of Oncology, KU Leuven and Leuven Cancer Institute (LKI), Leuven, Belgium.
Curr Opin Chem Biol. 2023 Oct;76:102362. doi: 10.1016/j.cbpa.2023.102362. Epub 2023 Jul 4.
Mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) is an emerging technology in cancer metabolomics. Desorption electrospray ionization (DESI) and matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization (MALDI) MSI are complementary techniques to identify hundreds of metabolites in space with close to single-cell resolution. This technology leap enables research focusing on tumor heterogeneity, cancer cell plasticity, and the communication signals between cancer and stromal cells in the tumor microenvironment (TME). Currently, unprecedented knowledge is generated using spatial metabolomics in fundamental cancer research. Yet, also translational applications are emerging, including the assessment of spatial drug distribution in organs and tumors. Moreover, clinical research investigates the use of spatial metabolomics as a rapid pathology tool during cancer surgeries. Here, we summarize MSI applications, the knowledge gained by this technology in space, future directions, and developments needed.
质谱成像（MSI）是癌症代谢组学中的一项新兴技术。解吸电喷雾电离（DESI）和基质辅助激光解吸电离（MALDI）MSI 是互补技术，可在接近单细胞分辨率的情况下在空间中鉴定数百种代谢物。这项技术的飞跃使研究能够集中在肿瘤异质性、癌细胞可塑性以及肿瘤微环境（TME）中癌细胞与基质细胞之间的通讯信号上。目前，空间代谢组学在基础癌症研究中产生了前所未有的知识。然而，也出现了转化应用，包括评估器官和肿瘤中空间药物分布。此外，临床研究还探讨了将空间代谢组学作为癌症手术期间的快速病理工具的用途。在这里，我们总结了 MSI 的应用、该技术在空间中获得的知识、未来的方向以及所需的发展。
