Comparability of intact nematodes and nematode sections. (a) brightfield picture of an intact nematode. (b,c) brightfield picture of consecutive nematode sections. Arrows point out totally different elements of the C. elegans anatomy corresponding between the sections and intact nematode. Credit score: Scientific Experiences (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-025-09577-9
Understanding how fats molecules are distributed and performance in residing organisms is vital to uncovering mechanisms of growing old, illness, and metabolism. Caenorhabditis elegans, a clear roundworm, is a broadly used mannequin for learning fats storage on account of its genetic similarity to people and well-defined anatomy. Nonetheless, visualizing lipids at excessive decision in such a small organism has posed a significant technical problem.
A analysis staff at Okayama College, Japan, led by Professor Masazumi Fujiwara and his Ph.D. scholar Sara Mandic, in collaboration with Professor Ron M. A. Heeren of Maastricht College, Netherlands, has developed a brand new microfluidics-based workflow that allows high-resolution, 3D lipid imaging in C. elegans. Their findings have been printed within the journal Scientific Experiences on July 8, 2025.
The staff mixed matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass-spectrometry imaging (MALDI-MSI) with standard lipid staining strategies to map each the identification and site of lipid molecules contained in the worm. To protect inner buildings, younger grownup nematodes have been aligned and immobilized on a custom-designed microfluidic chip, embedded in a gelatin–carboxymethyl cellulose combination, sectioned utilizing a cryotome and analyzed by MALDI-MSI. Every part was additionally subjected to Oil Crimson O staining, which highlights impartial fat, to substantiate and complement the imaging outcomes.
“This is the first time we’ve been able to map lipid distributions in C. elegans with such spatial resolution while preserving internal structures,” explains Mandic.
Ten consecutive tissue sections from a single C. elegans nematode, proven as optical pictures (left stack) and corresponding lipid distribution maps generated by MALDI mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) (proper stack). This sectional information enabled 3D reconstruction of lipid localization, highlighting organ-specific fats distribution alongside the physique axis. Credit score: Sara Mandic from Okayama College, Japan
Standard lipid evaluation strategies usually contain trade-offs—both staining lipids with out figuring out them or measuring them with out preserving spatial data. This new technique does each: it detects particular lipid molecules and reveals the place they’re situated contained in the physique. The power to retain the interior anatomy of the worm throughout pattern preparation is vital to understanding how lipids behave in several tissues.
“Our technique gives researchers a reliable way to study fat dynamics in specific tissues of a single nematode,” explains Mandic.
Utilizing their technique, the staff recognized a number of lipids that clustered in distinct anatomical areas, together with the pharynx, gut, and reproductive system. As an illustration, one lipid linked to ldl cholesterol metabolism was discovered primarily within the pharynx and anterior gut, suggesting a possible position in nutrient absorption. These findings, made attainable by the tactic’s structural preservation, present invaluable perception into how fats molecules are organized and performance throughout totally different elements of the worm.
The researchers additionally prolonged their evaluation past two-dimensional imaging. By aligning and stacking consecutive tissue slices, they created three-dimensional reconstructions of particular person nematodes, providing a full-body view of lipid distribution with outstanding anatomical element.
Comparability of 3D reconstructions utilizing optical and MSI pictures of 10 consecutive nematode sections, after Landmark Correspondences-based transformation. Credit score: Scientific Experiences (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-025-09577-9
This method allowed them to visualise how lipids are organized all through the complete ~1 mm-long organism—one thing that had not been achieved at this degree of precision earlier than. Importantly, the tactic was proven to be extremely reproducible. Variations between particular person nematodes have been larger than any technical inconsistencies, demonstrating the accuracy and robustness of the workflow.
“This method allows us to see not just what lipids are present, but exactly where they are inside the body—whether in the intestine, pharynx, or embryos,” provides Mandic.
As a result of C. elegans shares many basic organic pathways with people, this method has wide-reaching implications for biomedical analysis. It permits the research of lipid habits in response to genetic mutations, environmental stress, drug remedies, and growing old—all key components in human well being and illness. The staff now plans to use this workflow to numerous C. elegans strains, together with these carrying disease-related mutations, and to combine the approach with lipid quantification instruments.
“Our work opens the door to visualizing lipid biology in an entirely new way—one that’s precise, reproducible, and rich in detail,” concludes Mandic.
Altogether, this research equips researchers with a robust device for inspecting fats metabolism on the organ-specific degree in C. elegans, paving the best way for deeper insights into growing old, metabolic issues, and illness mechanisms.
Extra data:
Sara Mandic et al, Technique growth for correlating lipid molecular data with anatomy in C. elegans, Scientific Experiences (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-025-09577-9
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Mapping fats: How microfluidics and mass spectrometry reveal lipid landscapes (2025, August 22)
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