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17.3 Results
Initially, we detected a limited number of lipids within FFPE tissue sections, as
expected, whose lateral distribution was in accordance with the morphological
structures present within the tissue. Furthermore, we noticed that lateral diffusion of
the N-glycans and tryptic peptides in the subsequent analysis was limited, despite
the numerous tissue washes and matrix applications. Finally, comparing the spatial
distribution of key signals detected at these multi-molecular levels, complementary
information could be obtained, and regions of tissue with altered molecular profiles
could be highlighted.
17.4 Conclusions
The tri-modal approach presented here would be the first of its kind to consecutively
detect lipids, N-Glycans and tryptic peptides on the same FFPE tissue section. In
conclusion, the workflow described here may be useful for a deeper understanding
of complex diseases, where both lipids and proteins pathways are involved, and for
assisting the pathologist in the diagnosis and stratification of patients, that maybe
not possible when considering a single group of analytes.
V. Denti et al.