In the present study, we used a large-scale integration (LSI)-based amperometric sensor array system, designated Bio-LSI, to image dopamine release from three-dimensional (3D)-cultured PC12 cells (PC12 spheroids). The Bio-LSI device consists of 400 sensor electrodes with a pitch of 250 μm for rapid electrochemical imaging of large areas. PC12 spheroids were stimulated with K(+) to release dopamine. Poststimulation dopamine release from the PC12 spheroids was electrochemically imaged using the Bio-LSI device. Bio-LSI clearly showed the effects of the dopaminergic drugs l-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (L-DOPA) and reserpine on K(+)-stimulated dopamine release from PC12 spheroids. Our results demonstrate that dopamine release from PC12 spheroids can be monitored using the device, suggesting that the Bio-LSI is a promising tool for use in evaluating 3D-cultured dopaminergic cells and the effects of dopaminergic drugs. To the best of our knowledge, this report is the first to describe electrochemical imaging of dopamine release by PC12 spheroids using LSI-based amperometric sensors.
Cancer is characterized by abnormal energy metabolism shaped by nutrient deprivation that malignant cells experience during various stages of tumor development. This study investigated the response of nutrient-deprived cancer cells and their non-malignant counterparts to sialic acid supplementation and found that cells utilize negligible amounts of this sugar for energy. Instead cells use sialic acid to maintain cell surface glycosylation through complementary mechanisms. First, levels of key metabolites (e.g., UDP-GlcNAc and CMP-Neu5Ac) required for glycan biosynthesis are maintained or enhanced upon Neu5Ac supplementation. In concert, sialyltransferase expression increased at both the mRNA and protein levels, which facilitated increased sialylation in biochemical assays that measure sialyltransferase activity as well as at the whole cell level. In the course of these experiments, several important differences emerged that differentiated the cancer cells from their normal counterparts including resistant to sialic acid-mediated energy depletion, consistently more robust sialic acid-mediated glycan display, and distinctive cell surface vs. internal vesicle display of newly-produced sialoglycans. Finally, the impact of sialic acid supplementation on specific markers implicated in cancer progression was demonstrated by measuring levels of expression and sialylation of EGFR1 and MUC1 as well as the corresponding function of sialic acid-supplemented cells in migration assays. These findings both provide fundamental insight into the biological basis of sialic acid supplementation of nutrient-deprived cancer cells and open the door to the development of diagnostic and prognostic tools.
Accumulation of β-amyloid peptide is a key step in Alzheimer’s disease pathogenesis. Yuede et al. propose a novel method to track β-amyloid levels in vivo.
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