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12th International Symposium on Bioluminescence & Chemiluminescence |
Symposium abstracts:
McMullen, D., Malstrom, S., Zhang, W., Sambucetti, L., Weber, A.
Xenogen Corporation, 860 Atlantic Avenue, Alameda, CA, USA
Bioluminescence of in vivo tissue-specific expression of HO-luc can be visualized
and quantitated using a low-light imaging system (IVIS™) after injection
of luciferin.
Heme oxygenase-1 (HO) is a key enzyme in the conversion of heme to bilirubin.
The HO gene can be up-regulated with chemicals or other inducers of oxidative
stress.
FVB mice, transgenic for the firefly luciferase gene under transcriptional control
of the HO promoter (HO-luc), have been shown to express the HO-luc transgene
in a manner similar to the endogenous HO-1 gene when treated with inducers of
oxidative stress. Male and female HO-luc mice were treated with cadmium chloride,
chloroform, doxorubicin, thioacetamide, acetaminophen, aspirin or clofibrate
to evaluate this model as an in vivo screening tool for toxicology. Compounds
that produced oxidative stress and induced HO expression increased the amount
of light emitted from specific tissues in the HO–luc mice. Agents not confirmed
to produce oxidative stress did not significantly increase HO directed luciferase
expression. These findings suggest that the IVIS™ imaging technology and
the HO-luc mouse may be used for in vivo screening of new and unknown compounds
for their potential toxic effects.
This
is a preprint of an article accepted for publication in Luminescence: Copyright
2001 John
Wiley & Sons, Ltd (Wiley website)