Successive High-Resolution (H2O)n-GC1B and C60-SIMS Imaging Integrates Multi-Omics in Different Cell Types in Breast Cancer Tissue

The temporo-spatial organization of different cells in the tumor microenvironment (TME) is the key to under- standing their complex communication networks and the immune landscape that exists within compromised tissues. Multi-omics profiling of single-interacting cells in the native TME is critical for providing further information regarding the reprograming mechanisms leading to immunosuppression and tumor progression. This requires new technologies for biomolecular profiling of phenotypically heterogeneous cells on the same tissue sample. Here, we developed a new methodology for comprehensive lipidomic and metabolomic profiling of individual cells on frozenhydrated tissue sections using water gas cluster ion beam secondary ion mass spectrometry ((H2O)(n)-GCIB-SIMS) (at 1.6 mu m beam spot size), followed by profiling cell-type specific lanthanide antibodies on the same tissue section using C-60-SIMS (at 1.1 mu m beam spot size). We revealed distinct variations of distribution and intensities of >150 key ions (e.g., lipids and important metabolites) in different types of the TME individual cells, such as actively proliferating tumor cells as well as infiltrating immune cells. The demonstrated feasibility of SIMS imaging to integrate the multi-omics profiling in the same tissue section at the single-cell level will lead to new insights into the role of lipid reprogramming and metabolic response in normal regulation or pathogenic discoordination of cell-cell interactions in a variety of tissue microenvironments.

Automated summary

This study developed a new methodology for comprehensive lipidomic and metabolomic profiling of individual cells on frozen-hydrated tissue sections, combined with cell-type specific lanthanide antibodies analysis. The research revealed distinct variations of distribution and intensities of key ions in different types of cells within the tumor microenvironment. The feasibility of employing SIMS imaging for multi-omics profiling at the single-cell level in the same tissue section opens up possibilities for gaining new insights into cellular interactions in various tissue microenvironments.