Reta Birhanu Kitata

Abstract Click to copy section linkSection link copied! Recent advances in mass spectrometry-based single-cell proteomics (SCP) technologies have revolutionized the SCP field. However, current SCP approaches generally employ sub-μL to 1 μL processing volumes for effective single-cell sample preparation using either ultralow-volume specialized devices or a 384-well plate by frequently adding water to compensate for evaporation, which limits their broad accessibility and analytical robustness.

Introduction Click to copy section linkSection link copied! The rapid improvement in data-independent acquisition (DIA) has transformed the fields of proteomics and phosphoproteomics. (1) In DIA, all precursors within predefined m/z windows are coisolated and fragmented across the entire m/z range. (2) This contrasts with data-dependent acquisition (DDA), which fragments only the most abundant precursor ions on a semistochastic basis.

Abstract Multicellular circulating tumor cell (CTC) clusters can be up to 50 times more efficient than single CTCs in mediating viable metastasis. Here, combining computational ranking and functional determination, we identify the transmembrane protein Plexin-B2 (PLXNB2) as one of the top molecular targets associated with unfavorable distant metastasis-free survival, showing enriched expression in CTC clusters versus single CTCs from patients with advanced breast cancer (mostly female).