Protein and lipid mass concentration measurement in tissues by stimulated Raman scattering microscopy

Cell mass and its chemical composition are important aggregate cellular variables for physiological processes including growth control and tissue homeostasis. Despite their central importance, it has been difficult to quantitatively measure these quantities from single cells in intact tissue. Here, we introduce Normalized Raman Imaging (NoRI), a Stimulated Raman Scattering (SRS) microscopy method that provides the local concentrations of protein, lipid and water from live or fixed tissue samples with high spatial resolution. Using NoRI, we demonstrate that single cell protein, lipid and water concentrations are maintained in a tight range in cells under same physiological conditions and are altered in different physiological states such as cell cycle stages, attachment to substrates of different stiffness, or by entering senescence. In animal tissues, protein and lipid concentration varies with cell types, yet an unexpected cell-to-cell heterogeneity was found in cerebellar Purkinje cells. Protein and lipid concentration profile provides a new means to quantitatively compare disease-related pathology as demonstrated using models of Alzheimer’s disease. Our demonstration shows that NoRI is a broadly applicable tool for probing the biological regulation of protein mass, lipid mass and water in cellular and tissue growth, homeostasis, and disease.

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