title: Imaging of molecular probe activity with Born-normalized fluorescence optical projection tomography.
abstract: Optical projection tomography is a new ex vivo imaging technique that allows imaging of whole organs in three dimensions at high spatial resolutions. In this Letter we demonstrate its capability to tomographically visualize molecular activity in whole organs of mice. In particular, eosinophil activity in asthmatic lungs is resolved using a Born-normalized fluorescence optical projection tomography and employing a near-IR molecular probe. The possibility to achieve molecularly sensitive imaging contrast in optical projection tomography by means of targeted and activatable imaging reporter agents adds a new range of capabilities for investigating molecular signatures of pathophysiological processes and a wide variety of diseases and their development.
authors.affiliation: Center for Systems Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 185 Cambridge Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, USA. cvinegoni@mgh.harvard.edu
authors.forename: Claudio
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Vinegoni
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Fumene Feruglio
authors.forename: Virna
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Cortez-Retamozo
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Razansky
authors.forename: Benjamin D
authors.initials: BD
authors.lastname: Medoff
authors.forename: Vasilis
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Ntziachristos
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sbarbati
authors.forename: Mikael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pittet
authors.forename: Ralph
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Weissleder
mesh_terms: D017076:Computer-Aided Design; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence / Q000295:instrumentation*; D015336:Molecular Probe Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D041622:Tomography, Optical / Q000295:instrumentation*