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Being essential aromatic amino acids (AAAs), phenylalanine (Phe) and tryptophan (Tryp) can be absorbed by the human body to synthesize new molecules for sustaining normal biological functions1. Phe is needed for the synthesis of proteins, melanin, and tyrosine, while Tryp is required for the synthesis of melatonin, serotonin, and niacin2,3. However, excess consumption of these AAAs can upregulate the mammalian target of the rapamycin (mTOR) pathway, inhibit AMP-activated protein kinase, and interfere with the mitochondrial metabolism, collectively altering macromolecule biosynthesis and leading to the production of malignant precursors, such as reactive oxygen species (ROS) in healthy cells4,5,6. Direct visualization of altered metabolic dynamics under excess AAA regulation is essential to understand AAAs' roles in promoting cancer development and the growth of healthy cells7,8,9.
Traditional AAA studies rely on gas chromatography (GC)10. Other methods, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), have limited spatial resolutions, making it hard to perform cellular and sub-cellular analysis of biological samples11. Recently, matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) has been developed to elucidate the role of AAAs in lipid and protein syntheses in cancer proliferation with noninvasive biomarkers12,13,14. However, this technique still suffers from shallow imaging depths, poor spatial resolution, and extensive sample preparation. At the cellular level, nontoxic stable isotopes, such as nitrogen-15 and carbon-13, can be traced with multi-isotope imaging and nanoscale secondary ion mass spectrometry to understand their incorporation into macromolecules. However, these methods are destructive to living biological samples15,16. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is another powerful technique that can visualize metabolic dynamics17. The slow rate of scanning during AFM imaging, on the other hand, may cause image distortion of the result from thermal drift.
We developed a noninvasive biorthogonal imaging modality by coupling deuterium-oxide (D2O) probed stimulated Raman scattering (DO-SRS) microscopy and label-free two-photon excitation fluorescence microscopy (2PEF). This modality achieves a high spatial resolution and chemical specificity when imaging biological samples18,19,20,21,22,23,24. This protocol introduces the applications of DO-SRS and 2PEF to examine the metabolic dynamics of lipids, protein, and redox ratio changes during cancer progressions. With D2O being a stable isotope form of water, cellular biomolecules can be labeled with deuterium (D) due to its quick compensation with total body water in cells, forming carbon-deuterium (C-D) bonds through enzymatic exchange21. The C-D bonds in newly synthesized macromolecules, including lipids, proteins, DNA/RNA, and carbohydrates, can be detected in the cell silent region of the Raman spectrum20,21,22,25,26,27. With two synchronized laser pulses, C-D bonds of newly synthesized lipids and proteins can be displayed on single cells via hyperspectral imaging (HSI) without extracting or labeling them with cytotoxic agents. In addition, SRS microscopy has the capability to construct three-dimensional (3D) models of selected regions of interest in biological samples by capturing and combining a set of cross-sectional images22,26. With hyperspectral and 3D volumetric imaging, DO-SRS can obtain spatial distributions of newly synthesized macromolecules in single cells, along with the type of organelles that facilitate the process of promoting cancer growth under AAA regulation22. Furthermore, using 2PEF, we can obtain autofluorescence signals of Flavin and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) with high resolution, deep penetration depth, and low-level damage in biological samples21,23,24. Flavin and NADH autofluorescence signals have been used to characterize redox homeostasis and lipid peroxidation in cancer cells22,26. As such, not only does the coupling of DO-SRS and 2PEF provide subcellular analysis of AAA-regulated metabolic dynamics in cancer cells with high spatial distribution, chemical specificity information, and minimal sample preparation, but the method also reduces the need to extract or label endogenous molecules with toxic reagents. In this protocol, we first present the procedures of D2O and amino acid preparation, as well as cancer cell culture. Then, we show the protocols of DO-SRS imaging and 2PEF imaging. Finally, we present the representative results of SRS and 2PEF imaging, which demonstrate AAA-regulated metabolic changes of lipids and protein, and redox ratio changes in cancer cells. A detailed illustration of the process is highlighted in Figure 1.