Establishment of intracellular suger imaging

2019 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 17K19417
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Research (Exploratory)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Biology of Cells to Organisms, and related fields
• Research Institution: National Center for Global Health and Medicine
• Principal Investigator: Shimura Mari 国立研究開発法人国立国際医療研究センター, その他部局等, その他 (90226267)
• Project Period (FY): 2017-06-30 – 2020-03-31
• Keywords: 細胞内糖質 / イメージング / 糖質代謝 / 放射光 / 一原子ラベル / 蛍光X線 / 顕微鏡 / 高分解

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This study aimed to visualize intracellular sugar and the derivatives. Generally, imaging small molecules in cells is complicated due to hard labeling to see without alternations of cellular functions. We labelled a single element with a glucose and apply it for cells. After cellular uptake, signals from the labeled element were obtained by our developed synchrotron X-ray fluorescence microscopy (SXFM). Although we could obtain the cellular distribution of the labeled glucose, over 90% of glucose was lost due to paraformaldehyde fixation. We then established a flash freezing & drying method that can keep cellular component including glucose as close to nature as possible. Now, we are waiting for the use of synchrotron facility after the pandemic infection. Once it is opened, we will finalize this study and publishing to show the possibility of a single element labeling combined with synchrotron X-ray fluorescence microscopy for intracellular sugar derivatives.

Free Research Field

細胞生物学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

糖質など細胞内小分子の可視化は、一般に困難である。小分子は、より大きな分子の抗体や蛍光物質によるラベル化より、本来機能が失われることが多く、一方、ラベルしない方法（質量分析法など）では、分解能が十分得られない。そこで本研究では、物質の最小単位である１原子をラベルした糖質を細胞に取り込ませ、独自に開発した蛍光X線顕微鏡(SXFM)より、糖質の細胞内可視化に至った。本研究グループは、これまでに脂肪酸小分子の細胞内可視化にも成功している。糖質や脂肪酸の細胞内代謝の可視化法を提案することで、健康や病気予防に貢献する。