B-350 The application of MALDI-TOF imaging to biomarker discovery in a mouse model of papillomavirus associated tumorigenesis
Authors: Lu S , Jones R , Stanley A , Hu J , Zhu Y 
Published: October 2024

Background

Human papillomavirus (HPV) can cause infection and dysplasia in cutaneous epithelium of immunodeficient patients. An animal model has been developed to study HPV-associated tumorigenesis using Nude mouse (Foxn1nu) and mouse papillomavirus (MmuPV1). This study applies MALDI-TOF imaging to compare the expression pattern of small molecules between viral-infected dysplastic mouse skin and mock-infected control tissue. Three sets of molecules showing distinct patterns are identified in correlation with the upregulation of an enzyme in related biosynthetic pathway.

Methods

Nude mice were wounded on tail and inoculated with MmPV1 suspension (1×109 viral DNA genomes per infected site) or PBS 24 hours later for treatment and control group, respectively. Tail skins were harvested 4 weeks post-infection and processed for cryosectioning. Tissue sections were analyzed using timsTOF flex (Bruker) under negative ion mode with 9-aminoacridine as the matrix. Viral infection (MmuPV1-L1 antigen) and enzyme expression (3'-phosphoadenosine 5'-phosphosulfate synthetase 1, PAPSS1) were assessed by immunofluorescence on adjacent sections.

Results

Three peaks demonstrated distinct distribution patterns in mouse skin. One peak at m/Z = 465 was identified as cholesterol sulfate (CS) by tandem MS and comparing with the standard. CS was enriched in keratinocytes, hair follicles, and blood vessels in normal skins, and it increased in dysplastic skins with enhanced angiogenesis. The combined peaks at m/Z = 327 & 329 were tentatively identified as docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and docosapentaenoic acid (DPA). These long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFAs) were present in the dermis as foci partially co-localized with CS, and they also increased in virus-infected skins. The peak at m/Z = 426 may represent a combination of ADP and APS. Although these two isobars cannot be separated by tandem MS, APS was revealed by the presence of sulfur isotopes at expected natural abundance (34S and 32S). They were present at a low level in the epidermis of normal skins but significantly increased after virus infection. APS and ADP were closely associated with the proliferating cells, and the signal intensity also increased with the degree of tissue dysplasia. As a single factor, APS & ADP demonstrated a fair differential power for MmuPV1-induced dysplastic skin and normal control (AUC of ROC curve = 0.75). The bifunctional enzyme PAPSS1 catalyzes the conversion of ATP to 3’-phosphonato-5’-adenyl sulfate (PAPS) via APS as an intermediate. Interestingly, immunofluorescence showed the expression of PAPSS1 also increased significantly with the severity of tissue dysplasia and MmuPV1 infection.

Conclusions

MALDI-TOF imaging reveals three sets of molecules with distinct patterns in mouse skin, and their levels are increased during MmuPV1-induced epithelium dysplasia. As a precursor of the common sulfate donor (PAPS), increased APS and ADP in the epidermis of virus-infected skins indicate an upregulation of sulfation pathway and adenine metabolism. This finding is supported by enhanced expression of enzyme PAPSS1 and an increased sulfation reaction product, CS. In addition, DHA and DPA are also increased in the dermis of virus-infected skins, implying a disturbance in LC-PUFA metabolism. This study demonstrates combined use of MALDI-TOF imaging and immunostaining in the search of novel biomarkers of HPV-associated tumorigenesis.