基于有源矩阵数字微流控芯片样品处理平台的高灵敏度单细胞蛋白质组集成化分析新策略

An Integrated Sample Preparing Platform for Highly Sensitive Single-Cell Proteomics Analysis Using Active Matrix Digital Microfluidic Chips

  • 摘要: 传统的群体细胞研究掩盖了个体细胞间的异质性,而单细胞组学以全新的研究视角揭示了细胞多样性及其关联的分子机制,为精准解析复杂生物过程提供了重要支持。针对蛋白质组常规前处理方法中难以避免的样本损失,本研究利用有源矩阵数字微流控芯片(active-matrix digital microfluidic, AM-DMF)构建了可操控纳升级液滴反应容器的单细胞蛋白质组集成样品处理平台,并结合timsTOF Pro 2质谱仪,开发了低损失、高灵敏的单细胞蛋白质组分析新策略。结果表明,采用AM-DMF平台和数据非依赖性采集(DIA)可从单个HeLa细胞中平均鉴定出近3 000种蛋白质,相较于其他样品前处理方法,鉴定深度增加了58%,且定量结果具有较高的重复性,该方法的稳定性和一致性较好。同时,该策略在单细胞层面实现了HeLa、A549和HepG2三种肿瘤细胞系的有效区分,证明了其在揭示单细胞异质性和解析复杂生物学问题方面的应用潜力。

     

    Abstract: Traditional bulk cell studies obscure the heterogeneity between individual cells, whereas single-cell omics provides a novel research perspective to reveal cellular diversity and its associated molecular mechanisms, offering a crucial support for the precise analysis of complex biological processes. To address the unavoidable sample loss in conventional proteomics sample preparation methods, an integrated sample processing platform was established for single-cells using active-matrix digital microfluidics (AM-DMF), that manipulated nanoliter level droplets as the reaction vessels. Combining AM-DMF and timsTOF Pro 2 mass spectrometer enabled low-loss and high-sensitivity single-cell proteomic analysis. In this study, the surfactant used in the AM-DMF platform was firstly optimized to ensure proper droplet movement and sorting on the chip surface, and chromatographic conditions were also optimized to determine the ideal column length for single-cell protein identification. Then, the AM-DMF platform was compared to cellenONE, which was another commonly used single-cell sorting and sample processing platform. The results showed that using the AM-DMF platform combined with data-independent acquisition (DIA), nearly 3 000 proteins can be identified on average from a single HeLa cell, with an average single-cell sorting time of 2 s. Compared to other sample preparation methods, the identification depth increases by 58%, and the single-cell sorting time is reduced by 74%. The quantitative results exhibit high reproducibility, demonstrating the stability and consistency of this method. These findings validate the advantages of the AM-DMF platform in terms of identification depth, sensitivity, and sample processing throughput. Finally, the single-cell proteomes of HepG2, A549, and HeLa cells were systematically compared on the AM-DMF platform. The results revealed that an average of 2 831, 2 541, and 2 403 proteins are identified in single HepG2, A549, and HeLa cells were systematically compared on the AM-DMF platform, respectively. Principal component analysis (PCA) showed that single-cell proteomic data from the same cell line cluster together, while those from different cell lines are clearly separated, indicating the high stability of AM-DMF in single-cell sample preparation and qualitative and quantitative consistency, preserving the intrinsic proteomic characteristics and differences of the cells. Furthermore, an analysis of variance (ANOVA) with adjusted p-values less than 0.05 identifies 149 proteins with significantly different abundances across the three cell types. Gene ontology (GO) enrichment analysis of differentially expressed proteins showed that three cell types are enriched in distinct biological processes. Through a comparative analysis of HepG2, A549 and HeLa cell lines at the single-cell proteome level, this study highlights distinct proteomic expression patterns across different cell types, demonstrating the potential of the AM-DMF platform for single-cell proteomics research. This approach is expected to provide technical support for further investigation in complex biological questions, such as cell differentiation, tumor heterogeneity, and the immune microenvironment, and also holds promise for applications in the analysis of even smaller samples, such as single-cell extracellular vesicles and secreted proteins, offering refined molecular-level insights for precision medicine, drug screening, and personalized therapy.

     

/

返回文章
返回