Citation Details

Journal Article

Xen44, Xen 44, Proteus mirabilis, bioluminescence imaging

Sepsis remains the major cause of death in patients with major burn injuries. In the present investigation we evaluated the interaction between burn injuries of varying severity and preexisting distant infection. We used Gram-negative bacteria (Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Proteus mirabilis) that were genetically engineered to be bioluminescent, which allowed for noninvasive, sequential optical imaging of the extent and severity of the infection. The bioluminescent bacteria migrated from subcutaneous abscesses in the leg to distant burn wounds on the back depending on the severity of the burn injury, and this migration led to increased mortality of the mice. Treatment with ciprofloxacin, injected either in the leg with the bacterial infection or into the burn eschar, prevented this colonization of the wound and decreased mortality. The present data suggest that burn wounds can readily become colonized by infections distant from the wound itself.

Journal Article

HCT-116-luc2, IVIS, Bioware, HCT116-luc2, Administration, Oral; Animals; Bacteria/*genetics; Cell Line, Tumor; Female; Genes, Reporter/genetics; Genetic Engineering; Glioblastoma/*microbiology/pathology/radiography; Humans; Imaging, Three-Dimensional; Luminescent Measurements/*methods; Lung Neoplasms/*microbiology/pathology/radiography; Mice; Molecular Imaging/*methods; X-Ray Microtomography

The ability to track microbes in real time in vivo is of enormous value for preclinical investigations in infectious disease or gene therapy research. Bacteria present an attractive class of vector for cancer therapy, possessing a natural ability to grow preferentially within tumours following systemic administration. Bioluminescent Imaging (BLI) represents a powerful tool for use with bacteria engineered to express reporter genes such as lux. BLI is traditionally used as a 2D modality resulting in images that are limited in their ability to anatomically locate cell populations. Use of 3D diffuse optical tomography can localize the signals but still need to be combined with an anatomical imaging modality like micro-Computed Tomography (muCT) for interpretation.In this study, the non-pathogenic commensal bacteria E. coli K-12 MG1655 and Bifidobacterium breve UCC2003, or Salmonella Typhimurium SL7207 each expressing the luxABCDE operon were intravenously (i.v.) administered to mice bearing subcutaneous (s.c) FLuc-expressing xenograft tumours. Bacterial lux signal was detected specifically in tumours of mice post i.v.-administration and bioluminescence correlated with the numbers of bacteria recovered from tissue. Through whole body imaging for both lux and FLuc, bacteria and tumour cells were co-localised. 3D BLI and muCT image analysis revealed a pattern of multiple clusters of bacteria within tumours. Investigation of spatial resolution of 3D optical imaging was supported by ex vivo histological analyses. In vivo imaging of orally-administered commensal bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) was also achieved using 3D BLI. This study demonstrates for the first time the potential to simultaneously image multiple BLI reporter genes three dimensionally in vivo using approaches that provide unique information on spatial locations.

Journal Article

Bioware; Xen29

Ultrasound imaging is proving to be an important tool for medical diagnosis of dermatological disease. Backscatter spectral profiles using high-frequency ultrasound (HFUS, 10-100 MHz) are sensitive to subtle changes in eukaryotic cellular morphology and mechanical properties that are indicative of early apoptosis, the main type of cell death induced following photodynamic therapy (PDT). We performed experiments to study whether HFUS could also be used to discern changes in bacteria following PDT treatment. Pellets of planktonic Staphylococcus aureus were treated with different PDT protocols and subsequently interrogated with HFUS. Changes in ultrasound backscatter response were found to correlate with antimicrobial effect. Despite their small size, distinct changes in bacterial morphology that are indicative of cell damage or death are detectable by altered backscatter spectra from bacterial ensembles using HFUS. This highlights the potential for HFUS in rapidly and non-invasively assessing the structural changes related to antimicrobial response.

Journal Article

Xen14, Xen 14, E. coli Xen14, IVIS, Horse, bioluminescence

Uterine and placental infections are the leading cause of abortion, stillbirth, and preterm delivery in the mare. Whereas uterine and placental infections in women have been studied extensively, a comprehensive examination of the pathogenic processes leading to this unsatisfactory pregnancy outcome in the mare has yet to be completed. Most information in the literature relating to late-term pregnancy loss in mares is based on retrospective studies of clinical cases submitted for necropsy. Here we report the development and application of a novel approach, whereby transgenically modified bacteria transformed with lux genes of Xenorhabdus luminescens or Photorhabdus luminescens origin and biophotonic imaging are utilized to better understand pathogen-induced preterm birth in late-term pregnant mares. This technology uses highly sensitive bioluminescence imaging camera systems to localize and monitor pathogen progression during tissue invasion by measuring the bioluminescent signatures emitted by the lux-modified pathogens. This method has an important advantage in that it allows for the potential tracking of pathogens in vivo in real time and over time, which was hitherto impossible. Although the application of this technology in domestic animals is in its infancy, investigators were successful in identifying the fetal lungs, sinuses, nares, urinary, and gastrointestinal systems as primary tissues for pathogen invasion after experimental infection of pregnant mares with lux-modified Escherichia coli. It is important that pathogens were not detected in other vital organs, such as the liver, brain, and cardiac system. Such precision in localizing sites of pathogen invasion provides potential application for this novel approach in the development of more targeted therapeutic interventions for pathogen-related diseases in the equine and other domestic species.

Journal Article

Colo205-luc2, colorectal cancer, Bioware, IVIS

PURPOSE: The carbohydrate antigen sialyl-Lewis(a) (sLe(a)), also known as CA19.9, is widely expressed on epithelial tumors of the gastrointestinal tract and breast and on small-cell lung cancers. Since overexpression of sLe(a) appears to be a key event in invasion and metastasis of many tumors and results in susceptibility to antibody-mediated lysis, sLe(a) is an attractive molecular target for tumor therapy. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: We generated and characterized fully human monoclonal antibodies (mAb) from blood lymphocytes from individuals immunized with a sLe(a)-KLH vaccine. RESULTS: Several mAbs were selected based on ELISA and FACS including two mAbs with high affinity for sLe(a) (5B1 and 7E3, binding affinities 0.14 and 0.04 nmol/L, respectively) and further characterized. Both antibodies were specific for Neu5Acalpha2-3Galbeta1-3(Fucalpha1-4)GlcNAcbeta as determined by glycan array analysis. Complement-dependent cytotoxicity against DMS-79 cells was higher (EC(50) 0.1 mug/mL vs. 1.7 mug/mL) for r7E3 (IgM) than for r5B1 (IgG1). In addition, r5B1 antibodies showed high level of antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity activity on DMS-79 cells with human NK cells or peripheral blood mononuclear cells. To evaluate in vivo efficacy, the antibodies were tested in a xenograft model with Colo205 tumor cells engrafted into SCID (severe combined immunodeficient mice) mice. Treatment during the first 21 days with four doses of r5B1 (100 mug per dose) doubled the median survival time to 207 days, and three of five animals survived with six doses. CONCLUSION: On the basis of the potential of sLe(a) as a target for immune attack and their affinity, specificity, and effector functions, 5B1and 7E3 may have clinical utility.