Quantitative MALDI-MSI combined with LC-MS/MS metabolomics analysis to
study the inhibition of solasonine in lung cancer
Abstract
Background and purpose: The Chinese medicine monomer solasonine has been
shown to be an effective inhibitor of Lung adenocarcinoma in vitro and
in vivo. The research on the application of solasonine in lung cancer
mostly involves the cell level, the lack of information on the spatial
distribution of drugs and related metabolic pathways are common problems
faced by many Chinese medicine monomers. Experimental Approach: LC-MS/MS
metabolomics analysis was performed to reveal the underlying regulatory
mechanism, matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry
imaging (MALDI-MSI) and 3D computational reconstruction were applied to
illustrated the spatial-temporal distribution of solasonine. Solamargine
was chosen as the internal standard to correct the calibration curve due
to the similarity in structure. Key Results: Metabolomics analysis
illustrated that solasonine promotes A549 cells ferroptosis via
GPX4-induced destruction of the glutathione redox system. Detailed
distribution features of solasonine in different organs were revealed by
MALDI-MSI after intravenous administration in the mice. The
heterogeneity of solasonine distribution and penetration in tumor
demonstrated that significant drug deposits around the necrotic area.
Conclusion and Implication: The anti-tumor mechanism of solasonine
associated with ferroptosis is identified for the first time. It
provides an additional basis for the previous conclusion that solasonine
promotes tumor necrosis. Quantitative spatial-temporal information
obtained here can improve our understanding of pharmacokinetics (PK),
pharmacodynamics (PD), potential transient toxicities of solasonine in
organs, and possibly direct further optimization of drug properties to
reduce drug-induced organ toxicity and broaden the scope of application.