Practical Methods for Molecular In Vivo Optical Imaging.

Traditional approaches for translating observations of molecular events into the context of a living organism have suffered from the requirements for either sacrificing animals at multiple time points prior to labor-intensive analyses of multiple tissues, or have relied on subjective observations or measurements of the animals over time. Recently an explosion of dedicated animal imaging modalities and the release of modified clinical imaging devices dedicated for animal imaging have allowed for the design of quantitative real time experiments incorporating fewer animals and providing whole animal analyses. Of these modalities, optical imaging (bioluminescence and fluorescence) has emerged as a powerful research tool, allowing investigators with limited whole animal imaging expertise to rapidly and inexpensively translate models produced in cellular assays into the context of a living animal. Here we will outline the steps necessary for translation of models established in culture systems into rodents.