MIC GRAND ROUND: Molecular Snap Shots of Aging Skin with Martina Marchetti-Deschmann/TU Wien

Martina Marchetti-Deschmann

1 DFP

Martina Marchetti-Deschmann
TU Wien, Institut für Chemische Technologien und Analytik (CTA)
Getreidemarkt 9/164, 1060 Wien

Fotogallery

Martina Marchetti-Deschmann obtained a PhD in Chemistry at the University of Vienna. She is Full Professor for Mass Spectrometric Methods / Analytical Chemistry at the TU Wien, where she is heading the Research Group of Mass Spectrometric Bio- and Polymer Analysis in the Research Division of Imaging and Instrumental Analytical Chemistry at the CTA.

Martina Marchetti-Deschmann is working in the field of Instrumental Analytical Chemistry for over 20 years focusing on separation sciences, biomolecule identification, quantification, detailed characterization and spatial localization. Most of the research targets the development and application of state-of-the-art and high-end mass spectrometry for molecular bulk analysis and imaging approaches, with the goal to translate analytical and technological advances to industrial, medical, and biological applications.

Her group was the first Lab combining molecular and elemental imaging in a multi-instrument approach and developing sample handling strategies which allow to use the very same sample at different instruments to maintain local analyte information down to the cellular level.

She is one of the founders and now elected president of the MS Imaging Society (MSIS) and board member of the International Mass Spectrometry Foundation (IMSF). She is and has been active in many professional societies to advance mass spectrometric research, education and professionalization. She published over 130 peer-reviewed articles, 7 book chapters and holds three patents. Her research was awarded the Beynon Prize from the Journal "Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry" in 2007 and the Fritz Feigl Prize in 2013 by the Austrian Society of Analytical Chemistry (ASAC). 

Abstract: Molecular Snap Shots of Aging Skin

Martina Marchetti-Deschmann ^abc, Samuele Zoratto ^ab, Christopher Kremslehner ^bde, Markus Schosserer ^be, Florian Gruber ^bcd

^a Institute of Chemical Technologies and Analytics, TU Wien, Vienna, Austria

^b Christian Doppler Laboratory for Skin Multimodal Imaging of Aging and Senescence, Vienna, Austria

^c Austrian Cluster for Tissue Regeneration, Vienna, Austria

^d Department of Dermatology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria

^e Institute of Medical Genetics, Medical University Vienna, Vienna, Austria

A single modality is very often not good enough to understand all functional, structural, temporal and chemical relations underlying certain biological conditions. Imaging a specimen with two or more complementary modalities creates an informative, composite view of a sample that spans all relevant resolution ranges. Here we shortly introduce the concept of MALDI Mass Spectrometry based imaging (MALDI MSI) and its potential to localize molecules in a tissue without a priori knowledge. Advantages, limitations, and potentials for applications are briefly highlighted.

In this talk our investigations on aging skin are presented to show the potential of MALDI MSI. Our skin is constantly exposed to solar radiation, high oxygen levels, and environmental pollutants. These are accelerant stress factors for premature skin aging, tissue inflammation, and photocarcinogenesis. In skin aging, the evident and well-known clinical effect is the alteration of the skin appearance. To counteract oxidative stress, the cells activate several epidermal and dermal lipoxygenases. Indeed, oxidized lipids can act as danger-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) messengers and are involved in the senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP). In previous work from our collaborator F. Gruber¹, several oxidized phosphatidylcholines (OxPCs) were characterized in a semitargeted lipidomic approach. The method involved the exposure of human dermal fibroblasts at defined UVA fluences, followed by liquid-liquid extraction, and lastly, mass spectrometric analysis by means of reversed-phase HPLC coupled to electrospray ionization MS/MS.

We now went one step further and studied the localization and relative quantity of certain OxPCs in a 3D skin model. Our study aims to evaluate the epilipidomic effects via an untargeted multimodal approach focusing on OxPCs species. We employed high-resolution matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization Fourier-transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (MALDI-FT-ICR MS) to generate OxPC distribution images. The high mass accuracy of FT-ICR MS instrumentation, combined with the analytes’ spatial localization and relative abundance, allow us to locate and putatively identify several OxPCs with great confidence. Lastly, the integration with high-definition images from light-microscopy and immunohistology yield a detailed and comprehensive result of the effects of UV-induced alteration.

¹Gruber et al, A simplified procedure for semi-targeted lipidomic analysis of oxidized phosphatidylcholines induced by UVA irradiation. J Lipid Res. 53(6): 1232–1242, 2012

We acknowledge financial support of the Federal Ministry Republic of Austria for Education, Science and Research and TU Wien (HRSM 2016), and the Christian Doppler Research Association for funding SKINMAGINE. This work is supported by COMULIS (CA17121) and EpiLipiNet (CA 19105).