Citation: Meng Yu, Yanhe Zhou, Guanlin Xiao, Xinyi Jiang, Xiangyi Wang, Tong Li, Jianpeng Huang, Jiamin Gao, Junwen Shi, Xiuli Gao, Zeper Abliz, Jiuming He. A high-definition spatially resolved metabolomics method to illuminate the metabolic specificity and interconnection across mouse brain[J]. Chinese Chemical Letters, ;2026, 37(1): 111153. doi: 10.1016/j.cclet.2025.111153 shu

A high-definition spatially resolved metabolomics method to illuminate the metabolic specificity and interconnection across mouse brain

Meng Yu ^{a, 1} ,
Yanhe Zhou ^{a, 1} ,
Guanlin Xiao ^a ,
Xinyi Jiang ^a ,
Xiangyi Wang ^a ,
Tong Li ^a ,
Jianpeng Huang ^a ,
Jiamin Gao ^a ,
Junwen Shi ^b ,
Xiuli Gao ^c ,
Zeper Abliz ^{a, d, e} ,
Jiuming He ^{a, c, f, *,}

a.
State Key Laboratory of Bioactive Substance and Function of Natural Medicines, Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100050, China
b.
Viktor Technology Co., Ltd., Beijing 101100, China
c.
School of Pharmaceutical Sciences & State Key Laboratory of Functions and Applications of Medicinal Plants & Microbiology and Biochemical Pharmaceutical Engineering Research Center of Guizhou Provincial Department of Education, Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang 550025, China
d.
Key Laboratory of Mass Spectrometry Imaging and Metabolomics (Minzu University of China), National Ethnic Affairs Commission, Beijing 100081, China
e.
Center for Imaging and Systems Biology, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Minzu University of China, Beijing 100081, China
f.
NMPA Key Laboratory for Safety Research and Evaluation of Innovative Drug, Beijing 100050, China

hejiuming@imm.ac.cn

Received Date: 27 November 2024
Revised Date: 23 March 2025
Accepted Date: 26 March 2025
Available Online: 27 March 2025

Figures(3)

The brain's functions are governed by molecular metabolic networks. However, due to the sophisticated spatial organization and diverse activities of the brain, characterizing both the minute and large-scale metabolic activity across the entire brain and its numerous micro-regions remains incredibly challenging. Here, we offer a high-definition spatially resolved metabolomics technique to better understand the metabolic specialization and interconnection throughout the mouse brain using improved ambient mass spectrometry imaging. This method allows for the simultaneous mapping of thousands of metabolites at a 30 µm spatial resolution across the mouse brain, ranging from structural lipids to functional neurotransmitters. This approach effectively reveals the distribution patterns of delicate microregions and their distinctive metabolic characteristics. Using an integrated database, we annotated 259 metabolites, demonstrating that the metabolome and metabolic pathways are unique to each brain microregion. The distribution of metabolites, closely linked to functionally connected brain regions and their interactions, offers profound insights into the complexity of chemical processes and their roles in brain function. An initial dataset for future metabolomics research might be obtained from the high-definition mouse brain's spatial metabolome atlas.
- AFADESI-MSI,
- Spatially resolved metabolomics,
- Metabolic specificity and interconnection,
- Mouse brain
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