Abstract
Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy is a unique technique that has potential for the optical diagnosis of cellular variations based on the characteristic molecular vibrational spectra of the cells. In the present study, a refinement of this technique − FTIR microscopy − was used in a mouse model to investigate spectral differences between primary cells and malignant cells transformed by murine sarcoma virus (MuSV). The advantage of FTIR microscopy is that it facilitates inspection of a restricted region of cell growth on a slide. A significant decrease in the intensities of the spectra was seen in malignant cells transformed by MuSV compared to primary normal cells. Also, there was a significant shift in the PO2−symmetric stretching mode from 1082 cm−1for normal cells to 1086 cm−1for malignant cells. Detectable and consistent differences between normal primary and malignant cells were evident in the shapes and positions of a number of peaks in the FTIR spectra. Our results indicated that FTIR microscopy has potential as a diagnostic method for the detection of malignant cells.
Highlights
The invasive and metastatic potential of cancer cells is a result of their lack of ability to control proliferation and differentiation in an integrated manner
Among the retroviruses that have been implicated in various types of human and animal leukemias and other tumors are Rous sarcoma virus, Avian sarcoma virus, and Moloney murine sarcoma virus (MuSV) [6,8,11,18]
This study indicates Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) microscopy has excellent potential as a diagnostic technique for distinguishing normal from retrovirus-transformed cells
Summary
The invasive and metastatic potential of cancer cells is a result of their lack of ability to control proliferation and differentiation in an integrated manner. Retroviruses carry oncogenes [1,10] that have the potential to transform normal cells into cancerous cells. A standardized laboratory technique for early detection of various types of cancers would greatly contribute to reducing the huge number of cancer-related deaths that occur throughout the world each year. Such a technique would be especially useful in developing countries, for which mortality rates from cancer are slightly higher than those in developed countries: Of the estimated annual 5.2 million deaths from cancer throughout the world, 55% (2.8 million) occur in developing countries [14]. Several features of infrared absorption spectroscopy demonstrated that FTIR could be applied as an accurate and sensitive method for in vivo diagnosis of malignant diseases: (1) in general, IR has a lower absorption coefficient of vibration motion and suffers less tissue scattering compared to
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