The cell-cycle dependence of the spectra of proliferating normal and neoplastic single cells using confocal resonance Raman microspectroscopy

Confocal resonance Raman (RR) spectra were collected from single proliferating cells and analyzed to detect spectral patterns that are cell-cycle dependent, as a consequence of cellular proliferation - normal or abnormal. The cells' biochemical age at each time point was confirmed by immunohistochemical staining to identify the presence or absence of cellular components that appear and/or disappear as the cells proceed through the cell-cycle. The RR spectra were collected and compared for each time point as the cells proceeded through the cell cycle to determine what spectral vibrational patterns are cell-cycle dependent. In this study, the question is whether the cell-cycle dependent RR spectral patterns of the vibrational modes observed in proliferating normal and neoplastic single cells are due to a state of cancer or are simply the consequences of the cells' changing internal biochemistry due to the process of cellular proliferation --- normal or abnormal.