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. 2015;10(2):169-183.
doi: 10.2217/fvl.14.96.

A bright future for bioluminescent imaging in viral research

Stewart M Coleman  1 , Alistair McGregor  1
Affiliations

A bright future for bioluminescent imaging in viral research

Stewart M Coleman et al. Future Virol. 2015.

Abstract

Bioluminescence imaging (BLI) has emerged as a powerful tool in the study of animal models of viral disease. BLI enables real-time in vivo study of viral infection, host immune response and the efficacy of intervention strategies. Substrate dependent light emitting luciferase enzyme when incorporated into a virus as a reporter gene enables detection of bioluminescence from infected cells using sensitive charge-coupled device (CCD) camera systems. Advantages of BLI include low background, real-time tracking of infection in the same animal and reduction in the requirement for larger animal numbers. Transgenic luciferase-tagged mice enable the use of pre-existing nontagged viruses in BLI studies. Continued development in luciferase reporter genes, substrates, transgenic animals and imaging systems will greatly enhance future BLI strategies in viral research.

Keywords: BLI; CCD camera; bioluminescence imaging; cytomegalovirus; herpes simplex; influenza; luciferase; pathogenesis; viral dissemination; virus imaging.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Bioluminescence imaging in tissue culture and an animal model
(A) Diagram of a single cell expressing FLuc, which enzymatically acts on d-Luciferin (substrate) to produce oxyluciferin + AMP and a photon of light. The photons are detected by the CCD camera, which produces the image, example shows tissue culture plate with FLuc expression virus. (B) IVIS-50 imaging system (Xenogen/Perkin Elmer., CA, USA) and BLI of FLuc expression from recombinant guinea pig CMV (GPCMV) in infected guinea pig pup. (C) The overlay image of the bioluminescence detected from the Fluc catalyzing D-Luciferin after 1 s and (D) 1 min onto image of the subject guinea pig pup. CCD: Charge-coupled device.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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