Integrative single-cell metabolomics and phenotypic profiling reveals metabolic heterogeneity of cellular oxidation and senescence

Ziyi Wang, Siyuan Ge, Tiepeng Liao, Man Yuan, Wenwei Qian, Qi Chen, Wei Liang, Xiawei Cheng, Qinghua Zhou, Zhenyu Ju, Hongying Zhu () and Wei Xiong ()
Additional contact information
Ziyi Wang: University of Science and Technology of China
Siyuan Ge: University of Science and Technology of China
Tiepeng Liao: University of Science and Technology of China
Man Yuan: University of Science and Technology of China
Wenwei Qian: University of Science and Technology of China
Qi Chen: University of Science and Technology of China
Wei Liang: University of Science and Technology of China
Xiawei Cheng: East China University of Science and Technology
Qinghua Zhou: Jinan University
Zhenyu Ju: Jinan University
Hongying Zhu: University of Science and Technology of China
Wei Xiong: University of Science and Technology of China

Nature Communications, 2025, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-22

Abstract: Abstract Emerging evidence has unveiled heterogeneity in phenotypic and transcriptional alterations at the single-cell level during oxidative stress and senescence. Despite the pivotal roles of cellular metabolism, a comprehensive elucidation of metabolomic heterogeneity in cells and its connection with cellular oxidative and senescent status remains elusive. By integrating single-cell live imaging with mass spectrometry (SCLIMS), we establish a cross-modality technique capturing both metabolome and oxidative level in individual cells. The SCLIMS demonstrates substantial metabolomic heterogeneity among cells with diverse oxidative levels. Furthermore, the single-cell metabolome predicted heterogeneous states of cells. Remarkably, the pre-existing metabolomic heterogeneity determines the divergent cellular fate upon oxidative insult. Supplementation of key metabolites screened by SCLIMS resulted in a reduction in cellular oxidative levels and an extension of C. elegans lifespan. Altogether, SCLIMS represents a potent tool for integrative metabolomics and phenotypic profiling at the single-cell level, offering innovative approaches to investigate metabolic heterogeneity in cellular processes.

Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-57992-3 Abstract (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natcom:v:16:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-025-57992-3

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/ncomms/

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-57992-3

Access Statistics for this article

Nature Communications is currently edited by Nathalie Le Bot, Enda Bergin and Fiona Gillespie

More articles in Nature Communications from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().