title: Repetitive, noninvasive imaging of cyclooxygenase-2 gene expression in living mice.
abstract: The cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) gene plays a role in a wide variety of normal physiologic pathways and is a major target of pharmacologic intervention in a large number of pathophysiologic contexts, including pain, fever, inflammation, and cancer. Expression of the COX-2 gene is induced in a wide range of cells, in response to an ever-increasing number of stimuli. The regulation of the COX-2 gene has been the subject of extensive study, using traditional transfection techniques with reporter gene constructs. Regulation of the COX-2 gene in living animals, however, requires sacrifice of the animal and in situ hybridization and/or immunohistochemical studies. We have utilized in vivo optical imaging technology with a cooled charged coupled device camera to image the expression of the firefly luciferase gene in tumor xenografts that are stably transfected with a chimeric gene containing the first kilobase of the murine COX-2 promoter. Induction of luciferase gene expression following systemic lipopolysaccharide/endotoxin administration can be robustly demonstrated; both a dose-response relationship and a time course for luciferase expression from the COX-2 promoter can be noninvasively analyzed in the tumor xenografts. These data suggest expression from the COX-2 promoter will be easily analyzed in transgenic mice, in knock-in mice, and in somatic cell and gene transfer experiments.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D051546:Cyclooxygenase 2; D003952:Diagnostic Imaging; D015870:Gene Expression / Q000502:physiology*; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D017930:Genes, Reporter; D005910:Glioma / Q000378:metabolism; D007527:Isoenzymes / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics*; D051379:Mice; D041681:NIH 3T3 Cells; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D011451:Prostaglandin-Endoperoxide Synthases / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics*; D051381:Rats
chemical_list: D007527:Isoenzymes; D051546:Cyclooxygenase 2; D011451:Prostaglandin-Endoperoxide Synthases