Noninvasive Monitoring of Placenta-Specific Transgene Expression by Bioluminescence Imaging
Figure 2
Trophoblast-specific Fluc expression assessed by live BLI at different stages of pregnancy.
Blastocysts (selected) optimally transduced with LV-Fluc/Tomato were transferred into GD3 pseudopregnant recipients and Fluc expression in the placenta was evaluated by BLI at different stages of pregnancy in the same animal. A–E, grayscale body surface images and pseudocolor luminescence images (blue - least intense, red - most intense) were superimposed; photons emitted from implanting blastocysts could be detected as early as GD5 (A). F, placenta-specific Fluc (BLI) and Tomato (fluorescence) expression on GD18. Note that fetuses of the corresponding placentas are both Fluc and Tomato negative, indicating viral transduction of trophoblast-specific lineage. G, levels of total photon flux over the abdominal area at different stages of pregnancy; there was an exponential increase in signal intensity from GD6 through GD12.