title: In vivo imaging of gene transfer to the respiratory tract.
abstract: Imaging of in vivo gene expression using luciferase expression in various organs has been used for several years. In contrast to other organs, in vivo imaging of the lung, particularly after non-viral gene transfer has not been extensively studied. The aim of this study was to address several questions: (1) Does in vivo light emission correlate with standard tissue homogenate-based luciferase detection in a dose-dependent manner? Recombinant Sendai virus (SeV) transduces airway epithelial cells very efficiently and was used to address this question, (2) Is the sensitivity of the assay sufficient to detect non-viral gene transfer? We treated mice with SeV-Lux vector using our standard "sniffing" protocol, a method that predominantly results in lung deposition. Dose-related in vivo light emission was visible in all animals. Importantly, there was a significant correlation (r>0.90, p<0.0001) between the in vivo and ex vivo assays in both the left and right lung. We next transfected the nasal epithelium via nasal perfusion or the lungs ("sniffing") of mice with a luciferase plasmid (pCIKLux) complexed to the cationic lipid GL67 (n=25-27/group) and imaged luciferase expression in vivo 24h after transfection. Gene expression was detectable in both organs. Correlation between the in vivo and ex vivo assays was significant (r=0.52, p<0.005) in the left, but not the right lung. The correlation in the nose was weaker (r=0.45, p<0.05). To our knowledge these studies show for the first time that this non-invasive method of assessing pulmonary gene transfer is viable for evaluating non-viral gene transfer agents.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gene Therapy, Imperial College at the National Heart and Lung Institute, Manresa Road, London SW3 6LR, UK. u.griesenbach@imperial.ac.uk <u.griesenbach@imperial.ac.uk>
authors.forename: Uta
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Griesenbach
authors.forename: Cuixiang
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Meng
authors.forename: Raymond
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Farley
authors.forename: Seng H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: Ronald K
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Scheule
authors.forename: Mark H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Davies
authors.forename: Paul C
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Wolstenholme-Hogg
authors.forename: Willem
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: ten Hove
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: van der Hoeven
authors.forename: Patrick L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Sinn
authors.forename: Paul B
authors.initials: PB
authors.lastname: McCray
authors.forename: Makoto
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Inoue
authors.forename: Duncan M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Geddes
authors.forename: Mamoru
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hasegawa
authors.forename: Gad
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Frankel
authors.forename: Siouxsie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wiles
authors.forename: Eric W F W
authors.initials: EW
authors.lastname: Alton
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D005822:Genetic Vectors / Q000235:genetics; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D008156:Luciferases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D008163:Luminescent Measurements / Q000379:methods*; D008168:Lung / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D009297:Nasal Mucosa / Q000378:metabolism; D012137:Respiratory System / Q000378:metabolism*; D029082:Sendai virus / Q000235:genetics; D014162:Transfection / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins; D008156:Luciferases