Dataset Information

Real-time bioluminescence imaging of mixed mycobacterial infections.

ABSTRACT: Molecular analysis of infectious processes in bacteria normally involves construction of isogenic mutants that can then be compared to wild type in an animal model. Pathogenesis and antimicrobial studies are complicated by variability between animals and the need to sacrifice individual animals at specific time points. Live animal imaging allows real-time analysis of infections without the need to sacrifice animals, allowing quantitative data to be collected at multiple time points in all organs simultaneously. However, imaging has not previously allowed simultaneous imaging of both mutant and wild type strains of mycobacteria in the same animal. We address this problem by using both firefly (Photinus pyralis) and click beetle (Pyrophorus plagiophthalamus) red luciferases, which emit distinct bioluminescent spectra, allowing simultaneous imaging of two different mycobacterial strains during infection. We also demonstrate that these same bioluminescence reporters can be used to evaluate therapeutic efficacy in real-time, greatly facilitating our ability to screen novel antibiotics as they are developed. Due to the slow growth rate of mycobacteria, novel imaging technologies are a pressing need, since they can they can impact the rate of development of new therapeutics as well as improving our understanding of virulence mechanisms and the evaluation of novel vaccine candidates.

SUBMITTER: Chang M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4180448 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Real-time bioluminescence imaging of mixed mycobacterial infections.

Chang MiHee M Anttonen Katri P KP Cirillo Suat L G SL Francis Kevin P KP Cirillo Jeffrey D JD

PloS one 20140929 9

Molecular analysis of infectious processes in bacteria normally involves construction of isogenic mutants that can then be compared to wild type in an animal model. Pathogenesis and antimicrobial studies are complicated by variability between animals and the need to sacrifice individual animals at specific time points. Live animal imaging allows real-time analysis of infections without the need to sacrifice animals, allowing quantitative data to be collected at multiple time points in all organs ...[more]

PMID: 25265287

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Project description:Cell-surface glycans are attractive targets for molecule imaging due to their reflection of cellular processes associated with development and disease progression. In this paper, we describe the design, synthesis, and biological application of a new phosphine probe for real-time imaging of cell-surface glycans using bioluminescence. To accomplish this goal, we took advantage of the bioorthogonal chemical reporter technique. This strategy uses a two-step labeling procedure in which an unnatural sugar analogue containing a functional handle is (1) incorporated into sugar-bearing proteins via the cell's own biosynthetic machinery and then (2) detected with an exogenously added probe. We designed phosphine-luciferin reagent 1 to activate bioluminescence in response to Staudinger ligation with azide-labeled glycans. We chose to use a phosphine probe because, despite their slow reaction kinetics, they remain the best-performing reagents for tagging azidosugars in mice. Given the sensitivity and negligible background provided by bioluminescence imaging (BLI), we reasoned that 1 might be able to overcome some of the limitations encountered with fluorescent phosphine probes. In this work, we synthesized the first phosphine-luciferin probe for use in real-time BLI and demonstrated that azide-labeled cell-surface glycans can be imaged with 1 using concentrations as low as single digit nanomolar and times as little as 5 min, a feat that cannot be matched by any previous fluorescent phosphine probes. Even though we have only demonstrated its use in visualizing glycans, it can be envisioned that this probe could also be used for bioluminescence imaging of any azide-containing biomolecule, such as proteins and lipids, since azides have been previously incorporated into these molecules. The phosphine-luciferin probe is therefore poised for many applications in real-time imaging in cells and whole animals. These studies are currently in progress in our laboratory.

Project description:Aspergillus fumigatus is an environmental mold that causes life-threatening respiratory infections in immunocompromised patients. The plateaued effectiveness of antifungal therapy and the increasing prevalence of triazole-resistant isolates have led to an urgent need to optimize and expand the current treatment options. For the transition of in vitro research to in vivo models in the time- and resource-consuming preclinical drug development pipeline, Galleria mellonella larvae have been introduced as a valuable in vivo screening intermediate. Despite the high potential of this model, the current readouts of fungal infections in G. mellonella are insensitive, irreproducible, or invasive. To optimize this model, we aimed for the longitudinal quantification of the A. fumigatus burden in G. mellonella using noninvasive bioluminescence imaging (BLI). Larvae were infected with A. fumigatus strains expressing a red-shifted firefly luciferase, and the substrate dosage was optimized for the longitudinal visualization of the fungal burden without affecting larval health. The resulting photon flux was successfully validated for fungal quantification against colony forming units (CFU) analyses, which revealed an increased dynamic range from BLI detection. Comparison of BLI to survival rates and health index scores additionally revealed improved sensitivity for the early discrimination of differences in fungal burdens as early as 1 day after infection. This was confirmed by the improved detection of treatment efficacy against triazole-susceptible and -resistant strains. In conclusion, we established a refined G. mellonella aspergillosis model that enables the noninvasive real-time quantification of A. fumigatus by BLI. This model provides a quick and reproducible in vivo system for the evaluation of treatment options and is in line with 3Rs recommendations. IMPORTANCE Triazole-resistant Aspergillus fumigatus strains are rapidly emerging, and resistant infections are difficult to treat, causing mortality rates of up to 88%. The recent WHO priority list underscores A. fumigatus as one of the most critical fungal pathogens for which innovative antifungal treatment should be (urgently) prioritized. Here, we deliver a Galleria mellonella model for triazole-susceptible and -resistant A. fumigatus infections combined with a statistically powerful quantitative, longitudinal readout of the A. fumigatus burden for optimized preclinical antifungal screening. G. mellonella larvae are a convenient invertebrate model for in vivo antifungal screenings, but so far, the model has been limited by variable and insensitive observational readouts. We show that bioluminescence imaging-based fungal burden quantification outperforms these readouts in reliability, sensitivity, and time to the detection of treatment effects in both triazole-susceptible and -resistant infections and can thus lead to better translatability from in vitro antifungal screening results to in vivo confirmation in mouse and human studies.

Dataset Information

Real-time bioluminescence imaging of mixed mycobacterial infections.

Publications

Real-time bioluminescence imaging of mixed mycobacterial infections.

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