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Mammalian ovarian lipid distributions by desorption electrospray ionization–mass spectrometry (DESI-MS) imaging

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Abstract

Merging optical images of tissue sections with the spatial distributions of molecules seen by imaging mass spectrometry is a powerful approach to better understand the metabolic roles of the mapped molecules. Here, we use histologically friendly desorption electrospray ionization–mass spectrometry (DESI-MS) to map the lipid distribution in tissue sections of ovaries from cows (N = 8), sows (N = 3), and mice (N = 12). Morphologically friendly DESI-MS imaging allows the same sections to be examined for morphological information. Independent of the species, ovarian follicles, corpora lutea, and stroma could be differentiated by principal component analysis, showing that lipid profiles are well conserved among species. As examples of specific findings, arachidonic acid and the phosphatidylinositol PI(38:4), were both found concentrated in the follicles and corpora lutea, structures that promoted ovulation and implantation, respectively. Adrenic acid was spatially located in the corpora lutea, suggesting the importance of this fatty acid in the ovary luteal phase. In summary, lipid information captured by DESI-MS imaging could be related to ovarian structures and data were all conserved among cows, sows, and mice. Further application of DESI-MS imaging to either physiological or pathophysiological models of reproductive conditions will likely expand knowledge of the roles of specific lipids and pathways in ovarian activity and mammalian fertility.

Desorption electrospray ionization–mass spectrometry (DESI-MS) is performed directly from frozen ovarian tissue sections placed onto glass slides. Because the desorption and ionization process of small molecules is so gentle, the tissue architecture is preserved. The sample can then be stained and tissue morphology information can be overlaid with the chemical information obtained by DESI-MS.

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Data availability

All .raw files and Biomap-compatible DESI-MS imaging files are freely available via MassIVE (MSV00008462), a mass spectrometry data repository.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Dr. Francesca E. Duncan for her valuable comments on an initial draft of this manuscript.

Funding

This study received funding from Grant No. UL1TR002529 (A. Shekhar, PI) from the National Institutes of Health, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, Clinical, and Translational Sciences Award; from the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, NIH Grant R21EB015722; from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH Grant R01AI122298; and from the Purdue University Center for Cancer Research Small Grants Program.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratorio para Investigaciones Biomédicas, Facultad de Ciencias de la Vida, Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral, ESPOL, 090112, Guayaquil, Ecuador

    Fernanda Bertuccez Cordeiro

  2. Department of Chemistry and Center for Analytical Instrumentation Development (CAID), Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA

    Alan K. Jarmusch, Christina Ramires Ferreira, Valentina Pirro & Robert Graham Cooks

  3. Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Collaborative Mass Spectrometry Innovation Center, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA

    Alan K. Jarmusch

  4. Surgery Department, School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, 05508-270, Brazil

    Marisol León & Maria Angelica Miglino

  5. Bindley Bioscience Center, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47907-1393, USA

    Christina Ramires Ferreira

  6. Department of Chemistry, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, 78712, USA

    Livia S. Eberlin

  7. Purdue Center for Cancer Research Transgenic Mouse Core Facility, Purdue University, 201 S. University Street, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA

    Judy Hallett

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  1. Fernanda Bertuccez Cordeiro
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  2. Alan K. Jarmusch
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Correspondence to Christina Ramires Ferreira.

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The present study has used mice samples from the Purdue University Center for Cancer Research’s Transgenic Mouse Core Facility. The study received approval from the Purdue Animal Care and Use Committee (protocol 11-060).

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Cordeiro, F.B., Jarmusch, A.K., León, M. et al. Mammalian ovarian lipid distributions by desorption electrospray ionization–mass spectrometry (DESI-MS) imaging. Anal Bioanal Chem 412, 1251–1262 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-019-02352-6

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