Noninvasive bioluminescence imaging of normal and spontaneously transformed prostate tissue in mice.

Several transgenic mouse models of prostate cancer have been developed recently that are able to recapitulate many key biological features of the human condition. It would, therefore, be desirable to employ these models to test the efficacy of new therapeutics before clinical trial; however, the variable onset and non-visible nature of prostate tumor development limit their use for such applications. We now report the generation of a transgenic reporter mouse that should obviate these limitations by enabling noninvasive in vivo bioluminescence imaging of normal and spontaneously transformed prostate tissue in the mouse.

Reduction of astrogliosis by early treatment of pneumococcal meningitis measured by simultaneous imaging, in vivo, of the pathogen and host response.

We developed a method for simultaneous in vivo biophotonic monitoring of pneumococcal meningitis and the accompanying neuronal injury in live transgenic mice. Streptococcus pneumoniae engineered for bioluminescence (lux) was used for direct visualization of disease progression and antibiotic treatment in a mouse model of meningitis. The host response was monitored in transgenic mice containing an inducible firefly luciferase (luc) reporter gene under transcriptional control of the mouse glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) promoter.

Bioluminescent human breast cancer cell lines that permit rapid and sensitive in vivo detection of mammary tumors and multiple metastases in immune deficient mice.

Introduction: Our goal was to generate xenograft mouse models of human breast cancer based on luciferase-expressing MDA-MB-231 tumor cells that would provide rapid mammary tumor growth; produce metastasis to clinically relevant tissues such as lymph nodes, lung, and bone; and permit sensitive in vivo detection of both primary and secondary tumor sites by bioluminescent imaging.

Method: Two clonal cell sublines of human MDA-MB-231 cells that stably expressed firefly luciferase were isolated following transfection of the parental cells with luciferase cDNA. Each subline was passaged once or twice in vivo to enhance primary tumor growth and to increase metastasis.

Noninvasive biophotonic imaging for monitoring of catheter-associated urinary tract infections and therapy in mice.

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are among the most common bacterial infections acquired by humans, particularly in catheterized patients. A major problem with catheterization is the formation of bacterial biofilms on catheter material and the risk of developing persistent UTIs that are difficult to monitor and eradicate. To better understand the course of UTIs and allow more accurate studies of in vivo antibiotic efficacy, we developed a catheter-based biofilm infection model with mice, using bioluminescently engineered bacteria.

Monitoring in vivo fitness of rifampicin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus mutants in a mouse biofilm infection model.

Objectives: To investigate in vivo fitness of rifampicin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus mutants in a mouse biofilm model using bioluminescence imaging.

Materials And Methods: S. aureus was engineered with a luciferase operon to emit bioluminescence that can be detected in vivo using an IVIS imaging system.

Noninvasive optical imaging method to evaluate postantibiotic effects on biofilm infection in vivo.

Eradication of Staphylococcus aureus biofilms after rifampin treatment was tested in a mouse model of device-related infection by using biophotonic imaging. Following treatment, the bioluminescent signals decreased to undetectable levels, irrespective of the age of the biofilm. After the final treatment, the signals rebounded in a time-dependent manner and reached those for the untreated mice.

Imaging of bioluminescent LNCaP-luc-M6 tumors: a new animal model for the study of metastatic human prostate cancer.

Background: Animal experiments examining hormone-sensitive metastatic prostate cancer using the human LNCaP cell line have been limited to endpoint analyses. To permit longitudinal studies, we generated a luciferase-expressing cell line and used bioluminescent imaging (BLI) to non-invasively monitor the in vivo growth of primary LNCaP tumors and metastasis.

Methods: LNCaP.

In vivo monitoring of tumor relapse and metastasis using bioluminescent PC-3M-luc-C6 cells in murine models of human prostate cancer.

We used the bioluminescent human prostate carcinoma cell line PC-3M-luc-C6 to non-invasively monitor in vivo growth and response of tumors and metastasis before, during and after treatments. Our goal was to determine the utility of a luciferase-based prostate cancer animal model to specifically assess tumor and metastatic recurrence in vivo following chemotherapy. Bioluminescent PC-3M-luc-C6 cells, constitutively expressing luciferase, were implanted into the prostate or under the skin of mice for primary tumor assessment.

Bioluminescent imaging (BLI) to improve and refine traditional murine models of tumor growth and metastasis.

Bioluminescent imaging (BLI) permits sensitive in vivo detection and quantification of cells specifically engineered to emit visible light. Three stable human tumor cell lines engineered to express luciferase were assessed for their tumorigenicity in subcutaneous, intravenous and spontaneous metastasis models. Bioluminescent PC-3M-luc-C6 human prostate cancer cells were implanted subcutaneously into SCID-beige mice and were monitored for tumor growth and response to 5-FU and mitomycin C treatments.

Rapid direct method for monitoring antibiotics in a mouse model of bacterial biofilm infection.

We have developed a rapid, continuous method for monitoring the effectiveness of several antibacterial agents in real time, noninvasively, by using a recently described mouse model of chronic biofilm infection (J. L. Kadurugamuwa et al.