title: Raman and autofluorescence spectrum dynamics along the HRG-induced differentiation pathway of MCF-7 cells.
abstract: Cellular differentiation proceeds along complicated pathways, even when it is induced by extracellular signaling molecules. One of the major reasons for this complexity is the highly multidimensional internal dynamics of cells, which sometimes causes apparently stochastic responses in individual cells to extracellular stimuli. Therefore, to understand cell differentiation, it is necessary to monitor the internal dynamics of cells at single-cell resolution. Here, we used a Raman and autofluorescence spectrum analysis of single cells to detect dynamic changes in intracellular molecular components. MCF-7 cells are a human cancer-derived cell line that can be induced to differentiate into mammary-gland-like cells with the addition of heregulin (HRG) to the culture medium. We measured the spectra in the cytoplasm of MCF-7 cells during 12 days of HRG stimulation. The Raman scattering spectrum, which was the major component of the signal, changed with time. A multicomponent analysis of the Raman spectrum revealed that the dynamics of the major components of the intracellular molecules, including proteins and lipids, changed cyclically along the differentiation pathway. The background autofluorescence signals of Raman scattering also provided information about the differentiation process. Using the total information from the Raman and autofluorescence spectra, we were able to visualize the pathway of cell differentiation in the multicomponent phase space.
authors.affiliation: Cellular Informatics Laboratory, RIKEN, Wako, Japan.
authors.forename: Shin-ichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Morita
authors.affiliation: Cellular Informatics Laboratory, RIKEN, Wako, Japan; Department of Chemistry, School of Science and Technology, Kwansei Gakuin University, Sanda, Japan.
authors.forename: Sota
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Takanezawa
authors.affiliation: Cellular Informatics Laboratory, RIKEN, Wako, Japan.
authors.forename: Michio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hiroshima
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Mathematics, College of Science and Engineering, Aoyama-Gakuin University, Sagamihara, Japan.
authors.forename: Toshiyuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mitsui
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, School of Science and Technology, Kwansei Gakuin University, Sanda, Japan.
authors.forename: Yukihiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ozaki
authors.affiliation: Cellular Informatics Laboratory, RIKEN, Wako, Japan. Electronic address: sako@riken.jp.
authors.forename: Yasushi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sako
mesh_terms: D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000187:drug effects*; D006801:Humans; D061986:MCF-7 Cells; D020890:Neuregulin-1 / Q000494:pharmacology*; D013050:Spectrometry, Fluorescence; D013059:Spectrum Analysis, Raman
chemical_list: D020890:Neuregulin-1