title: Raman imaging of single living cells: probing effects of non-cytotoxic doses of an anti-cancer drug.
abstract: Identifying cell response to a chemotherapy drug treatment, in particular at the single cell level, is an important issue in patient management. This study aims at evaluating the effect of gemcitabine on single living cells using micro-Raman imaging. We used as a model the non-small lung cancer cell line, Calu-1, exposed to cytostatic doses (1 nM to 1 μM for 24 h and 48 h) of gemcitabine, an antitumor drug currently used in the treatment of lung cancer. Following drug treatment as a function of doses and incubation times, the Raman maps of single living cells were acquired. Cell biomolecules (DNA, RNA, and proteins) were chemically extracted and their spectral signatures used to evaluate their respective distribution in the cellular spectral information of control and treated cells. The quantification of these distributions reveals a significant effect of 100 nM gemcitabine at 48 h incubation (concomitant decrease of nucleic acids and increase of proteins). PCA analyses performed both on nuclear and extracted biomolecules spectra show a time-dependent effect of the drug. These promising results reveal that effects of subtoxic doses can be monitored at the single cell level highlighting the importance of such studies for clinical applications.
authors.affiliation: Equipe MéDIAN, Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne, CNRS UMR-MEDyC, UFR de Pharmacie, IFR, France.
authors.forename: Florence
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Draux
authors.forename: Cyril
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gobinet
authors.forename: Josep
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sulé-Suso
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Manfait
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Jeannesson
authors.forename: Ganesh D
authors.initials: GD
authors.lastname: Sockalingum
mesh_terms: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000633:toxicity; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects; D002470:Cell Survival; D004247:DNA / Q000378:metabolism; D003841:Deoxycytidine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000633:toxicity; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004354:Drug Screening Assays, Antitumor / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D042541:Intracellular Space / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D057054:Molecular Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D011506:Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D011791:Quartz; D012313:RNA / Q000378:metabolism; D059010:Single-Cell Analysis / Q000379:methods*; D013059:Spectrum Analysis, Raman; D000093542:Gemcitabine
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D011506:Proteins; D003841:Deoxycytidine; D011791:Quartz; D012313:RNA; D004247:DNA; D000093542:Gemcitabine