Biology subjects

Phapale, P.

Publications and source records attributed to Phapale, P..

6 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2024

msiFlow: Automated Workflows for Reproducible and Scalable Multimodal Mass Spectrometry Imaging and Immunofluorescence Microscopy Data Processing and Analysis

Multimodal imaging by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionisation mass spectrometry imaging (MALDI MSI) and immunofluorescence microscopy holds great potential for understanding pathological mechanisms by mapping molecular signatures from the tissue microenvironment to specific cell populations. However, existing open-source software solutions for analysis of MALDI MSI data are incomplete, require programming skills and contain laborious manual steps, hindering broadly applicable, reproducible, and high-throughput analysis to generate impactful biological discoveries across interdisciplinary research fields. Here we present msiFlow, an accessible open-source, platform-independent and vendor-neutral software for end-to-end, high-throughput, transparent and reproducible analysis of multimodal imaging data. msiFlow integrates all necessary steps from import and pre-processing of raw MALDI MSI data to visual analysis output, as well as registration, along with state-of-the-art and newly developed algorithms, into automated workflows. Using msiFlow, we unravel the molecular heterogeneity of leukocytes in infected tissues by spatial regulation of ether-linked phospholipids containing arachidonic acid. We anticipate that msiFlow will facilitate the broad applicability of MSI in the emerging field of multimodal imaging to uncover context-dependent cellular regulations in disease states.

bioinformatics↗

bioRxiv2022

Simple, rapid, and sensitive quantification of dolichyl phosphates using phosphate methylation and reverse-phase liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry

Dolichyl monophosphates (DolPs) are essential lipids in glycosylation pathways that are highly conserved across almost all domains of life. The availability of DolP is crucial for all glycosylation processes, as these lipids serve as membrane-anchored building blocks that various types of glycosyltransferases use to generate complex post-translational modifications of proteins and lipids. Analysis of DolP species by reverse-phase liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (RPLC-MS) has remained challenging due to their very low abundance and wide range of lipophilicities. Until now, a method for the simultaneous qualitative and quantitative assessment of DolP species from biological membranes has been lacking. Here we describe a novel approach based on simple sample preparation, rapid and efficient trimethylsilyl diazomethane (TMSD)-dependent phosphate methylation and RPLC-MS analysis for quantification of DolP species with different isoprene chain lengths. We used this workflow to selectively quantify DolP species from lipid extracts derived of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, HeLa and human skin fibroblasts from steroid 5--reductase 3-congenital disorders of glycosylation (SRD5A3-CDG) patients and healthy controls. Integration of this workflow with global lipidomics analyses will be a powerful tool to further our understanding of the role of DolPs in pathophysiological alterations of metabolic pathways downstream of HMG-CoA reductase, associated with CDGs, hypercholesterolemia, neurodegeneration, and cancer.

biochemistry↗

bioRxiv2021

On the reproductive mechanisms of Gram-positive protocells

Prokaryotes are hypothesized to have evolved from more primitive protocells. Unlike present-day cells, protocells are thought to have been devoid of complex molecular biological processes. They are believed to have mediated reproduction entirely by biophysical forces under favorable environmental conditions. Despite this proposition, little is known about the actual mechanism of their reproduction. To understand the reproduction process of protocells in their native habitat, here we used a top-down approach to transform bacterial cells into a primitive lipid vesicle-like state. Given that environmental conditions are thought to have played an essential role in mediating protocell reproduction, we then studied these cells under the presumed environmental conditions of Archaean Eon Earth. Even in the absence of functioning biological processes, cells in our study reproduced in a defined sequence of steps, always leading to the formation of viable daughter cells. Their reproduction mechanism can be explained by the interaction between intracellular metabolism, physicochemical properties of cell constituents, and, most importantly, environmental conditions. Given the simplicity of this reproduction mechanism and its suitability to environmental conditions of early Earth, we propose that protocells reproduced by this process. Moreover, this method of reproduction is also in tune with the earlier theoretical propositions on protocells, the results of the top- down approach of building a minimal cell, and the paleontological record of the Achaean Eon. Our study is the first to bridge the gap between non-living systems like lipid vesicles, living cells, and the paleontology of the Archaean Eon.

biophysics↗

bioRxiv2020

Public LC-Orbitrap-MS/MS Spectral Library for Metabolite Identification

Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry(LC-MS)-based untargeted metabolomics studies require high-quality spectral libraries for reliable metabolite identification. We have constructed EMBL-MCF, an open LC-MS/MS spectral library that currently contains over 1600 fragmentation spectra from 435 authentic standards of endogenous metabolites and lipids. The unique features of the library are presence of chromatographic profiles acquired with different LC-MS methods and coverage of different adduct ions. The library covers many biologically important metabolites with some unique metabolites and lipids as compared to other public libraries. The EMBL-MCF spectral library is created and shared using an in-house developed web-application at https://curatr.mcf.embl.de/. The library is freely available online and also integrated with other mass spectral repositories.

biochemistry↗

bioRxiv2019

Spatial single-cell profiling of intracellular metabolomes in situ

The recently unveiled extent of cellular heterogeneity demands for single-cell investigations of intracellular metabolomes to reveal their roles in intracellular processes, molecular microenvironment and cell-cell interactions. To address this, we developed SpaceM, a method for in situ spatial single-cell metabolomics of cell monolayers which detects >100 metabolites in >10000 individual cells together with fluorescence and morpho-spatial cellular features. We discovered that the intracellular metabolomes of co-cultured human HeLa cells and mouse NIH3T3 fibroblasts predict the cell type with 90.4% accuracy and revealed a short-distance metabolic intermixing between HeLa and NIH3T3. We characterized lipid classes composing lipid droplets in steatotic differentiated human hepatocytes, and discovered a preferential accumulation of long-chain phospholipids, a co-regulation of oleic and linoleic acids, and an association of phosphatidylinositol monophosphate with high cell-cell contact. SpaceM provides single-cell metabolic, phenotypic, and spatial information and enables spatio-molecular investigations of intracellular metabolomes in a variety of cellular models.

molecular biology↗

bioRxiv2017

Curatr: a web application for creating, curating, and sharing a mass spectral library

MotivationIdentification from metabolomics mass spectrometry experiments requires comparison of fragmentation spectra from experimental samples to spectra from analytical standards. As the quality of identification depends directly on the quality of the reference spectra, manual curation is routine during the selection of reference spectra to include in a spectral library. Whilst building our own in-house spectral library we realised that there is currently no vendor neutral open access tool for for facilitating manual curation of spectra from raw LC-MS data into a custom spectral library.\n\nResultsWe developed a web application curatr for the rapid generation of high quality mass spectral fragmentation libraries for liquid-chromatography mass spectrometry analysis. Curatr handles datasets from single or multiplexed standards, automatically extracting chromatographic profiles and potential fragmentation spectra for multiple adducts. These are presented through an intuitive interface for manual curation before being documented in a custom spectral library. Searchable molecular information and the providence of each standard is stored along with metadata on the experimental protocol. Curatr support the export of spectral libraries in several standard formats for easy use with third party software or submission to community databases, maximising the return on investment for these costly measurements. We demonstrate the use of curatr to generate the EMBL Metabolomics Core Facility spectral library which is publicly available at http://curatr.mcf.embl.de.\n\nAvailabilityThe source code is freely available at http://github.com/alexandrovteam/curatr/ along with example data.\n\nSupplementary informationA step-by step user manual is available in the supplementary information

bioinformatics↗