MALDI imaging combined with two-photon microscopy reveals local differences in the heterogeneity of colorectal cancer.

ABSTRACT: Colorectal cancer (CRC) remains a leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide, accentuated by its heterogeneity and complex tumour microenvironment (TME). The role of TME on tumour pathophysiology is pivotal, especially the influence of components of the extracellular matrix (ECM), such as collagen. We introduce a novel multimodal imaging strategy to unravel the complex spatial heterogeneity of CRC by integrating the imaging features from two-photon laser scanning microscopy (2PLSM) and histology with proteomics signatures from matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-mass spectrometry imaging (MALDI MSI). Our study is the first to correlate the structural coherence of collagen fibres and the nuclei distribution profile of tumour tissue with the peptide signatures, offering insi

SUBMITTER: Bharti A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12118716 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature