Spatial subcellular organelle networks in single cells

• Authors: Mythreye Venkatesan, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University; Nicholas Zhang, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University; Benoit Marteau, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University; Yukina Yajima, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University; Nerea O De Zarate Garcia, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University; Zhou Fang, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University; Thomas Hu, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University; Shuangyi Cai, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University; Zhou Ford, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University; Shuangyi Cai, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University; Adam Ford, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University; Harrison Olszewski, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University; Andrew Borst, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University; Ahmet F Coskun, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University
• Journal Title: Scientific Reports
• Volume: Volume 13
• Publisher: Nature Publishing Group | 2023-04-01
• Type of Work: Article | Final Publisher PDF
• Publisher DOI: http://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-32474-y
• Subjects: Engineering, Biomedical; Engineering, Electronics and Electrical
• Keywords: Organelles; Single-cell imaging; Image processing

Abstract

Organelles play important roles in human health and disease, such as maintaining homeostasis, regulating growth and aging, and generating energy. Organelle diversity in cells not only exists between cell types but also between individual cells. Therefore, studying the distribution of organelles at the single-cell level is important to understand cellular function. Mesenchymal stem cells are multipotent cells that have been explored as a therapeutic method for treating a variety of diseases. Studying how organelles are structured in these cells can answer questions about their characteristics and potential. Herein, rapid multiplexed immunofluorescence (RapMIF) was performed to understand the spatial organization of 10 organelle proteins and the interactions between them in the bone marrow (BM) and umbilical cord (UC) mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). Spatial correlations, colocalization, clustering, statistical tests, texture, and morphological analyses were conducted at the single cell level, shedding light onto the interrelations between the organelles and comparisons of the two MSC subtypes. Such analytics toolsets indicated that UC MSCs exhibited higher organelle expression and spatially spread distribution of mitochondria accompanied by several other organelles compared to BM MSCs. This data-driven single-cell approach provided by rapid subcellular proteomic imaging enables personalized stem cell therapeutics.