Novel strategies of Raman imaging for exploring cancer lipid reprogramming

Lipids play an important role in many cellular processes. Raman-driven microscopy is one of the most powerful technique for analyzing the properties of lipids in cellular compartments offering lipid compositional mapping and more precise, faster, simpler, and nondestructive measurements. Recent advances in Raman imaging (RI) have greatly progressed lipidomic analysis, such as lipid droplet content, lipid phenotype, fatty acid composition, spatial distribution and drug treatment response. This review paper focuses on the novel strategies of Raman imaging for exploring cancer lipid reprogramming. Results analyzed suggest that lipids and their metabolites play an important role in the molecular mechanisms of carcinogenesis. Oncogenically transformed cells have significantly different lipid profile compared to normal cells, but it still remains unclear whether biochemical changes of lipid phenotype are a cause or a consequence of cancer development.