Bioluminescence imaging

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Imaging of engineered E. coli Nissle 1917 in the mouse gut Imaging of engineered E. coli Nissle 1917 in the mouse gut.pdf
Imaging of engineered E. coli Nissle 1917 in the mouse gut

Bioluminescence imaging (BLI) is a technology developed over the past decades (1990's and onward). [1] [2] [3] [ when? ] that allows for the noninvasive study of ongoing biological processes [4] [1] [5] [6] [7] Recently, bioluminescence tomography (BLT) has become possible and several systems have become commercially available. In 2011, PerkinElmer acquired one of the most popular lines of optical imaging systems with bioluminescence from Caliper Life Sciences. [8]

Contents

Background

Bioluminescence is the process of light emission in living organisms. Bioluminescence imaging utilizes native light emission from one of several organisms which bioluminesce, also known as luciferase enzymes. [9] [10] [11] The three main sources are the North American firefly, the sea pansy (and related marine organisms), and bacteria like Photorhabdus luminescens and Vibrio fischeri . The DNA encoding the luminescent protein is incorporated into the laboratory animal either via a viral vector or by creating a transgenic animal. Rodent models of cancer spread can be studied through bioluminescence imaging, e.g. for mouse models of breast cancer metastasis.

Systems derived from the three groups above differ in key ways:

While the total amount of light emitted from bioluminescence is typically small and not detected by the human eye, an ultra-sensitive CCD camera can image bioluminescence from an external vantage point.

Applications

Common applications of BLI include in vivo studies of infection [14] (with bioluminescent pathogens), cancer progression (using a bioluminescent cancer cell line), and reconstitution kinetics (using bioluminescent stem cells). [15]

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have shown that bioluminescence imaging can be used to determine the effectiveness of cancer drugs that choke off a tumor's blood supply. The technique requires luciferin to be added to the bloodstream, which carries it to cells throughout the body. When luciferin reaches cells that have been altered to carry the firefly gene, those cells emit light. [16]

The BLT inverse problem of 3D reconstruction of the distribution of bioluminescent molecules from data measured on the animal surface is inherently ill-posed. The first small animal study using BLT was conducted by researchers at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA in 2005. Following this development, many research groups in USA and China have built systems that enable BLT.

Mustard plants have had the gene that makes fireflies' tails glow added to them so that the plants glow when touched. The effect lasts for an hour, but an utra-sensitive camera is needed to see the glow. [17]

Autoluminograph

An autoluminograph is a photograph produced by placing a light emitting object directly on a piece of film. A famous example is an autoluminograph published in Science magazine in 1986 [18] of a glowing transgenic tobacco plant bearing the luciferase gene of fireflies placed on Kodak Ektachrome 200 film.

Induced metabolic bioluminescence imaging

Induced metabolic bioluminescence imaging (imBI) is used to obtain a metabolic snapshot of biological tissues. [19] Metabolites that may be quantified through imBI include glucose, lactate, pyruvate, ATP, glucose-6-phosphate, or D2-hydroxygluturate. [20] imBI can be used to determine the lactate concentration of tumors or to measure the metabolism of the brain. [20] [19]

References

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  2. Contag CH, Bachmann MH (2002-08-01). "Advances in in vivo bioluminescence imaging of gene expression". Annual Review of Biomedical Engineering. 4 (1): 235–260. doi:10.1146/annurev.bioeng.4.111901.093336. PMID   12117758.
  3. Mezzanotte L, van 't Root M, Karatas H, Goun EA, Löwik CW (July 2017). "In Vivo Molecular Bioluminescence Imaging: New Tools and Applications". Trends in Biotechnology. 35 (7): 640–652. doi:10.1016/j.tibtech.2017.03.012. PMID   28501458.
  4. Brennan CK, Ornelas MY, Yao ZW, Prescher JA (August 2021). "Multicomponent Bioluminescence Imaging with Naphthylamino Luciferins". ChemBioChem. 22 (16): 2650–2654. doi:10.1002/cbic.202100202. PMC   8496354 . PMID   34139065.
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  7. Yeh HW, Ai HW (June 2019). "Development and Applications of Bioluminescent and Chemiluminescent Reporters and Biosensors". Annual Review of Analytical Chemistry. 12 (1): 129–150. Bibcode:2019ARAC...12..129Y. doi:10.1146/annurev-anchem-061318-115027. PMC   6565457 . PMID   30786216.
  8. "PerkinElmer to Acquire Caliper Life Sciences for $600M in Cash". Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN). Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. 8 September 2011. Retrieved 2016-06-10.
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  11. Rathbun CM, Porterfield WB, Jones KA, Sagoe MJ, Reyes MR, Hua CT, Prescher JA (December 2017). "Parallel Screening for Rapid Identification of Orthogonal Bioluminescent Tools". ACS Central Science. 3 (12): 1254–1261. doi:10.1021/acscentsci.7b00394. PMC   5746862 . PMID   29296665.
  12. Close DM, Patterson SS, Ripp S, Baek SJ, Sanseverino J, Sayler GS (August 2010). Pan X (ed.). "Autonomous bioluminescent expression of the bacterial luciferase gene cassette (lux) in a mammalian cell line". PLOS ONE. 5 (8): e12441. Bibcode:2010PLoSO...512441C. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0012441 . PMC   2929204 . PMID   20805991.
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  17. Riley C (17 May 2000). "Glowing plants reveal touch sensitivity". BBC News.
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  19. 1 2 Walenta S, Voelxen NF, Sattler UG, Mueller-Klieser W (2014). "Localizing and Quantifying Metabolites in Situ with Luminometry: Induced Metabolic Bioluminescence Imaging (ImBI)". Brain Energy Metabolism. Neuromethods. Vol. 90. pp. 195–216. doi:10.1007/978-1-4939-1059-5_9. ISBN   978-1-4939-1058-8.
  20. 1 2 Parks SK, Mueller-Klieser W, Pouysségur J (2020). "Lactate and Acidity in the Cancer Microenvironment". Annual Review of Cancer Biology. 4: 141–158. doi: 10.1146/annurev-cancerbio-030419-033556 .

Further reading