MALDI-MS-assisted In Situ Build Cervical Cytology Methods

Cervical cytology is an essential diagnostic method for gynecology, whose accuracy is influenced by some human factors such as pathologists’experience. Based on many successful applications of MALDI-MS to directly analyzing intact tissue sections, we transplanted the technology to in-situ analysis of cell smears, in expectation of assisting cytological diagnosis someday.We have developed a technique based on MALDI MS for the in-situ analysis of cervical smears. Ca ski and Hela cells were used as experimental models. Specimens were processed easily and rapidly using common reagents and smear method which could be achieved in any cytology laboratory. This procedure resulted in the production of highly reproducible protein profiles, and was able to differentiate these two different human cell lines.The sensitivity makes MALDI MS especially suited for small sample sizes. Data can be generated with minimal training due to the ease of the technique. The speed of the sample preparation and data acquisition makes the processing of large numbers of samples possible. All of the above make the cost of the method, including materials, technician time, and mass spectrometer time, would be a fraction of the cost of other methods. Therefore, using MALDI MS for the in-situ analysis of cervical smears is well suited for potential translation into the clinical laboratory.