Skip to main content

Visualization of Small Intact Proteins in Breast Cancer FFPE Tissue

  • Protocol
  • First Online:
Imaging Mass Spectrometry

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 2688))

Abstract

Molecular visualization of metabolites, lipids, and proteins by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry imaging (MALDI MSI) is becoming an in-demand analytical approach to aid the histopathological analysis of breast cancer. Particularly, proteins seem to play a role in cancer progression, and specific proteins are currently used in the clinic for staging. Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissues are ideal for correlating the molecular markers with clinical outcomes due to their long-term storage. So far, to obtain proteomic information by MSI from this kind of tissue, antigen retrieval and tryptic digestion steps are required. In this chapter, we present a protocol to spatially detect small proteins in tumor and necrotic regions of patient-derived breast cancer xenograft FFPE tissues without employing any on-tissue digestion. This protocol can be used for other kinds of FFPE tissue following specific optimization of the sample preparation phases.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Protocol
USD 49.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 189.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 249.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Huang SN, Minassian H, More JD (1976) Application of immunofluorescent staining on paraffin sections improved by trypsin digestion. Lab Investig 35:383–390

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Lee D-K, Rubakhin SS, Kusmartseva I et al (2020) Removing formaldehyde-induced peptidyl crosslinks enables mass spectrometry imaging of peptide hormone distributions from formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissues. Angew Chem Int Ed 59:22584–22590. https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202008847

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Shi SR, Key ME, Kalra KL (1991) Antigen retrieval in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissues: an enhancement method for immunohistochemical staining based on microwave oven heating of tissue sections. J Histochem Cytochem 39:741–748. https://doi.org/10.1177/39.6.1709656

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Krenacs L, Krenacs T, Stelkovics E, Raffeld M (2010) Heat-induced antigen retrieval for immunohistochemical reactions in routinely processed paraffin sections. In: Oliver C, Jamur MC (eds) Immunocytochemical Methods and Protocols. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ, pp 103–119

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  5. Seeley EH, Oppenheimer SR, Mi D et al (2008) Enhancement of protein sensitivity for MALDI imaging mass spectrometry after chemical treatment of tissue sections. J Am Soc Mass Spectrom 19:1069–1077. https://doi.org/10.1021/jasms.8b03230

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  6. Dilillo M, Ait-Belkacem R, Esteve C et al (2017) Ultra-high mass resolution MALDI imaging mass spectrometry of proteins and metabolites in a mouse model of glioblastoma. Sci Rep 7. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-00703-w

  7. Hermann J, Noels H, Theelen W et al (2020) Sample preparation of formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue sections for MALDI-mass spectrometry imaging. Anal Bioanal Chem 412:1263–1275. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-019-02296-x

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  8. Casadonte R, Caprioli RM (2011) Proteomic analysis of formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue by MALDI imaging mass spectrometry. Nat Protoc 6:1695–1709. https://doi.org/10.1038/nprot.2011.388

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  9. Kang HS, Lee SC, Park YS et al (2011) Protein and lipid MALDI profiles classify breast cancers according to the intrinsic subtype. BMC Cancer 11:465. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2407-11-465

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  10. Berghmans E, Jacobs J, Deben C et al (2020) Mass spectrometry imaging reveals neutrophil defensins as additional biomarkers for anti-PD-(L)1 immunotherapy response in NSCLC patients. Cancers 12:863. https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers12040863

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  11. Ly A, Buck A, Balluff B et al (2016) High-mass-resolution MALDI mass spectrometry imaging of metabolites from formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue. Nat Protoc 11:1428–1443. https://doi.org/10.1038/nprot.2016.081

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Isberg OG, Xiang Y, Bodvarsdottir SK et al (2021) The effect of sample age on the metabolic information extracted from formalin-fixed and paraffin embedded tissue samples using desorption electrospray ionization mass spectrometry imaging. J Mass Spectrom Adv Clin Lab 22:50–55. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmsacl.2021.10.004

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  13. Denti V, Piga I, Guarnerio S et al (2020) Antigen retrieval and its effect on the MALDI-MSI of lipids in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue. J Am Soc Mass Spectrom 31:1619–1624

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  14. Denti V, Andersen MK, Smith A et al (2021) Reproducible lipid alterations in patient-derived breast cancer xenograft FFPE tissue identified with MALDI MSI for pre-clinical and clinical application. Metabolites 11:577

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  15. Calvano CD, Carulli S, Palmisano F (2009) Aniline/α-cyano-4-hydroxycinnamic acid is a highly versatile ionic liquid for matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry. Rapid Commun Mass Spectrom 23:1659–1668. https://doi.org/10.1002/rcm.4053

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Meriaux C, Franck J, Wisztorski M et al (2010) Liquid ionic matrixes for MALDI mass spectrometry imaging of lipids. J Proteome 73:1204–1218. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jprot.2010.02.010

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Beaufour M, Ginguené D, Le Meur R et al (2018) Liquid native MALDI mass spectrometry for the detection of protein-protein complexes. J Am Soc Mass Spectrom 29:1981–1994. https://doi.org/10.1021/jasms.8b05690

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  18. Giampà M, Sgobba E (2020) Insight to functional conformation and noncovalent interactions of protein-protein assembly using MALDI mass spectrometry. Molecules 25:4979. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules25214979

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  19. Vestal ML, Juhasz P, Martin SA (1995) Delayed extraction matrix-assisted laser desorption time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Rapid Commun Mass Spectrom 9:1044–1050. https://doi.org/10.1002/rcm.1290091115

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Marco Giampà .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature

About this protocol

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this protocol

Giampà, M., Andersen, M.K., Krossa, S., Denti, V., Smith, A., Moestue, S.A. (2023). Visualization of Small Intact Proteins in Breast Cancer FFPE Tissue. In: Cole, L.M., Clench, M.R. (eds) Imaging Mass Spectrometry. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 2688. Humana, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-3319-9_14

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-3319-9_14

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Humana, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-0716-3318-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-0716-3319-9

  • eBook Packages: Springer Protocols

Publish with us

Policies and ethics