Citation Details

Journal Article

4T1-luc2, ProSense, MMPSense, CRi, Maestro, IVIS Animals; Benzenesulfonates/diagnostic use; Diagnostic Imaging/instrumentation/*methods; Disease Models, Animal; Disease Progression; Fluorescent Dyes/*diagnostic use; Indoles/diagnostic use; Luminescent Measurements/instrumentation/*methods; Mammary Neoplasms, Experimental/*diagnosis/pathology; Mice

Bioluminescence imaging (BLI) has shown its appeal as a sensitive technique for in vivo whole body optical imaging. However, the development of injectable tumor-specific near-infrared fluorescent (NIRF) probes makes fluorescence imaging (FLI) a promising alternative to BLI in situations where BLI cannot be used or is unwanted (e.g., spontaneous transgenic tumor models, or syngeneic mice to study immune effects).In this study, we addressed the questions whether it is possible to detect tumor progression using FLI with appropriate sensitivity and how FLI correlates with BLI measurements. In addition, we explored the possibility to simultaneously detect multiple tumor characteristics by dual-wavelength FLI (~700 and ~800 nm) in combination with spectral unmixing. Using a luciferase-expressing 4T1-luc2 mouse breast cancer model and combinations of activatable and targeting NIRF probes, we showed that the activatable NIRF probes (ProSense680 and MMPSense680) and the targeting NIRF probes (IRDye 800CW 2-DG and IRDye 800CW EGF) were either activated by or bound to 4T1-luc2 cells. In vivo, we implanted 4T1-luc2 cells orthotopically in nude mice and were able to follow tumor progression longitudinally both by BLI and dual-wavelength FLI. We were able to reveal different probe signals within the tumor, which co-localized with immuno-staining. Moreover, we observed a linear correlation between the internal BLI signals and the FLI signals obtained from the NIRF probes. Finally, we could detect pulmonary metastases both by BLI and FLI and confirmed their presence histologically.Taken together, these data suggest that dual-wavelength FLI is a feasible approach to simultaneously detect different features of one tumor and to follow tumor progression with appropriate specificity and sensitivity. This study may open up new perspectives for the detection of tumors and metastases in various experimental models and could also have clinical applications, such as image-guided surgery.

Journal Article

Xen14, Xen 14, E. coli Xen14, IVIS

Biofilm-associated infections are a major complication of implanted and indwelling medical devices like urological and venous catheters. They commonly persist even in the presence of an oral or intravenous antibiotic regimen, often resulting in chronic illness. We have developed a new approach to inhibiting biofilm growth on synthetic materials through controlled release of salicylic acid from a polymeric coating. Herein we report the synthesis and testing of a ultraviolet-cured polyurethane acrylate polymer composed, in part, of salicyl acrylate, which hydrolyzes upon exposure to aqueous conditions, releasing salicylic acid while leaving the polymer backbone intact. The salicylic acid release rate was tuned by adjusting the polymer composition. Anti-biofilm performance of the coatings was assessed under several biofilm forming conditions using a novel combination of the MBEC Assay biofilm multi-peg growth system and bioluminescence monitoring for live cell quantification. Films of the salicylic acid-releasing polymers were found to inhibit biofilm formation, as shown by bioluminescent and GFP reporter strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli. Urinary catheters coated on their inner lumens with the salicylic acid-releasing polymer significantly reduced biofilm formation by E. coli for up to 5 days under conditions that simulated physiological urine flow.

Journal Article

AngioSense, Animals; Humans; Macrophages/*immunology; Mice; Neoplasms/immunology/*pathology; Neutrophils/*immunology; Spleen/immunology/pathology

Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) and tumor-associated neutrophils (TANs) can control cancer growth and exist in almost all solid neoplasms. The cells are known to descend from immature monocytic and granulocytic cells, respectively, which are produced in the bone marrow. However, the spleen is also a recently identified reservoir of monocytes, which can play a significant role in the inflammatory response that follows acute injury. Here, we evaluated the role of the splenic reservoir in a genetic mouse model of lung adenocarcinoma driven by activation of oncogenic Kras and inactivation of p53. We found that high numbers of TAM and TAN precursors physically relocated from the spleen to the tumor stroma, and that recruitment of tumor-promoting spleen-derived TAMs required signaling of the chemokine receptor CCR2. Also, removal of the spleen, either before or after tumor initiation, reduced TAM and TAN responses significantly and delayed tumor growth. The mechanism by which the spleen was able to maintain its reservoir capacity throughout tumor progression involved, in part, local accumulation in the splenic red pulp of typically rare extramedullary hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells, notably granulocyte and macrophage progenitors, which produced CD11b(+) Ly-6C(hi) monocytic and CD11b(+) Ly-6G(hi) granulocytic cells locally. Splenic granulocyte and macrophage progenitors and their descendants were likewise identified in clinical specimens. The present study sheds light on the origins of TAMs and TANs, and positions the spleen as an important extramedullary site, which can continuously supply growing tumors with these cells.

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

MDA-MB-231-luc-D3H2Ln, D3H2Ln, IVIS, Breast cancer, Bioware, Animals; Birds/embryology; Breast Neoplasms/*metabolism; Cadherins/*metabolism; Cell Line, Tumor; Diagnostic Imaging; Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition/drug effects; Female; Humans; Microscopy, Confocal; Microscopy, Fluorescence; Morpholines/pharmacokinetics/pharmacology; Transplantation, Heterologous; Vimentin/metabolism

The analysis of dynamic events in the tumor microenvironment during cancer progression is limited by the complexity of current in vivo imaging models. This is coupled with an inability to rapidly modulate and visualize protein activity in real time and to understand the consequence of these perturbations in vivo. We developed an intravital imaging approach that allows the rapid induction and subsequent depletion of target protein levels within human cancer xenografts while assessing the impact on cell behavior and morphology in real time. A conditionally stabilized fluorescent E-cadherin chimera was expressed in metastatic breast cancer cells, and the impact of E-cadherin induction and depletion was visualized using real-time confocal microscopy in a xenograft avian embryo model. We demonstrate the assessment of protein localization, cell morphology and migration in cells undergoing epithelial-mesenchymal and mesenchymal-epithelial transitions in breast tumors. This technique allows for precise control over protein activity in vivo while permitting the temporal analysis of dynamic biophysical parameters.