Poster Presentation 2nd Australian Cancer and Metabolism Meeting 2017

Single cell cisplatin and other intrinsic metal measurements by ICP-MS (#35)

Scott Fraser 1 , Matias Abregu 1 , Chady Stephan 2 , Lauren Amable 3
  1. PerkinElmer, Glen Waverley, VIC, Australia
  2. PerkinElmer, Newbridge, Ontario, Canada
  3. National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, National Institutes of Health , Bethesda, MD, The U.S.A.

The measurement of metals at the level of a single cell is difficult, as traditional methods do not convey individual cellular distribution or variation. Here, we present a new method, Single Cell-Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry (SC-ICP-MS), to quantitate the metal concentration within individual cells. The method was developed in ovarian cancer cells using the chemotherapy drug, cisplatin, one of the most widely used class of cancer chemotherapy drugs in the Western world. Many patients who initially respond to cisplatin therapy later relapse and become resistant. Time course experiments were performed to measure the change of cisplatin uptake over time using the A2780 cisplatin-sensitive and the corresponding cisplatin-resistant A2780-CP70 ovarian cancer cell lines.  Individual cellular cisplatin levels were collected and a histogram representing the cell population was generated using the Syngistix Single Cell Application. The results show that the cisplatin sensitive cells accumulated more platinum in comparison to the cisplatin resistant cells. A heterogeneous distribution of cisplatin within the cellular population was observed, reflecting cisplatin uptake differs from cell to cell. Cellular concentrations of zinc, iron, and copper were also successfully analyzed by SC-ICP-MS. The heterogeneous distribution of these metals were also noted, however there were no large differences between cell lines overall. In conclusion, single cell ICP-MS analysis allows for the quantitation of cisplatin, as well as other metals, within individual cells. This technological advancement allows for new methodologies to optimise cisplatin uptake within cancer cell lines in the clinial and research settings. This translates to better personalised clinical responses for metal-based chemitherapeutic agents and opens the door for insights into metal associated metabolic disorders at the cellular level.