A platform for massively parallel metabolite analysis in single cells

单细胞大规模并行代谢物分析平台

• 批准号: 560481-2021
• 负责人: Fraser, Andrew
• 金额: $ 1.09万
• 依托单位: University of Toronto
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Idea to Innovation
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2020-01-01 至 2021-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=707087
• 关键词: platform; massively; parallel; metabolite; analysis

The cell is the fundamental unit of biology. However, in the past while we could see single cells within a complicated tissue using a microscope, it was very hard to know what was inside each individual cell - which genes were turned on or off in each cell? How was each cell taking up and processing the rich soup of biological molecules from our diet? How many different types of cell are present in a lump of tissue or in a single organ? This has changed dramatically in the last 5 years as single-cell technologies have revolutionized biology. Instead of having to look at which genes are on or off in an entire mass of tissue (e.g. 'brain' or 'liver') or in a whole tumour, we can now look at which genes are on or off in each individual cell in that tissue or tumour. This has transformed how we look at cancer biology or developmental biology. However, current single cell technologies can only examine RNA and DNA sequences - they cannot measure the many thousands of small molecules and metabolites that are present in each cell. This is a major hole in our understanding. The Fraser group has invented a new method that will allow us to measure hundreds of metabolites in parallel in single cells in a way that is completely compatible with current single cell technologies that measure gene expression. With our invention, we will be able to read both gene expression AND metabolite levels in single cells - this will provide a dramatically new way to see metabolism and drug uptake and processing in each cell of a complex tissue. The proposal here is to fund a deep market analysis. We plan to protect our invention by filing a patent in the next 1-2 months but from that point we will need to engage with knowledge leaders and potential industry partners to see the best route to take our invention to market. This market analysis will be an essential guide to drive this.

细胞是生物学的基本单位。然而，在过去，虽然我们可以用显微镜看到复杂组织中的单个细胞，但很难知道每个细胞内有什么-每个细胞中哪些基因被打开或关闭？每个细胞是如何从我们的饮食中摄取和处理丰富的生物分子汤的？一个组织块或一个器官中有多少种不同类型的细胞？在过去的5年里，随着单细胞技术彻底改变了生物学，这种情况发生了巨大变化。我们现在可以观察组织或肿瘤中的每个细胞中哪些基因是开启或关闭的，而不必观察整个组织（例如“大脑”或“肝脏”）或整个肿瘤中哪些基因是开启或关闭的。这改变了我们对癌症生物学或发育生物学的看法。然而，目前的单细胞技术只能检测RNA和DNA序列-它们无法测量每个细胞中存在的数千个小分子和代谢物。这是我们理解上的一个大漏洞。 弗雷泽小组发明了一种新方法，使我们能够在单细胞中平行测量数百种代谢物，这种方法与目前测量基因表达的单细胞技术完全兼容。通过我们的发明，我们将能够读取单细胞中的基因表达和代谢物水平-这将提供一种全新的方式来观察复杂组织中每个细胞的代谢和药物摄取和加工。 这里的建议是为深入的市场分析提供资金。我们计划在未来1-2个月内通过申请专利来保护我们的发明，但从那时起，我们将需要与知识领导者和潜在的行业合作伙伴合作，以找到将我们的发明推向市场的最佳途径。这个市场分析将是推动这一点的重要指南。