Metabolic Characterization of Cellular Health Using a Multimodal Spectroscopy Technique

Abstract

The mitochondria act as a bridge between cell metabolism and overall cell health due to the dual roles it plays in both apoptosis and as the site of mitochondrial respiration. Using a combined analytical approach of extracellular flux analysis and Raman spectroscopy, studies and predictive estimations of cell health can be made through metabolism. Here, the protective effect of a D2/D3 agonist D512 is shown on the metabolism of oxidopamine treated neuronal origin cells (PC-12). D2/D3 dopamine receptor agnostic agents have been shown to alleviate symptoms of neurodegenerative diseases including Parkinson’s disease in mouse models. It was observed that pre-incubation and co-incubation with D512 rescued metabolic parameters back to control levels. In addition, the effect of the bacterial quorum-sensing molecule 2-aminoacetophenone (2-AA) on RAW macrophage cells was studied. It was determined that at low concentrations (<200uM), 2-AA acted to increase mitochondrial metabolism, while at higher concentrations (>200uM), the metabolic rates decreased.