title: High-Sensitivity Mass Spectrometry for Probing Gene Translation in Single Embryonic Cells in the Early Frog (Xenopus)Embryo.
abstract: Direct measurement of protein expression with single-cell resolution promises to deepen the understanding of the basic molecular processes during normal and impaired development. High-resolution mass spectrometry provides detailed coverage of the proteomic composition of large numbers of cells. Here we discuss recent mass spectrometry developments based on single-cell capillary electrophoresis that extend discovery proteomics to sufficient sensitivity to enable the measurement of proteins in single cells. The single-cell mass spectrometry system is used to detect a large number of proteins in single embryonic cells in the 16-cell embryo of the South African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis)that give rise to distinct tissue types. Single-cell measurements of protein expression provide complementary information on gene transcription during early development of the vertebrate embryo, raising a potential to understand how differential gene expression coordinates normal cell heterogeneity during development.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, The George Washington University Washington, DC, USA.
authors.forename: Camille
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lombard-Banek
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Regenerative Biology, The George Washington University Washington, DC, USA.
authors.forename: Sally A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Moody
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, The George Washington University Washington, DC, USA.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Nemes
keywords: Xenopus laevis; cell differentiation; mass spectrometry; proteomics; single-cell analysis