title: Evaluating the effects of immunosuppression by in-vivo bioluminescence imaging after allotransplantation of ovarian grafts.
abstract: Bioluminescence imaging (BLI) has been introduced for studies of ongoing biological processes but has never been applied for ovarian transplantation. Here, BLI was used as a novel approach to trace the survival of ovarian grafts. The ovarian donors were transgenic mice carrying FVB/N-Tg (PolII-luc) as a reporter gene, encoding luciferase to catalyse luciferin which results in visible light emission as bioluminescence. There were three groups of recipients: (i) group A: BALB/c mice without immunosuppressant treatment; (ii) group B: BALB/c mice receiving a cocktail immunosuppressant treatment; and (iii) group C: immunodeficient NOD-SCID mice without immunosuppression. Luciferin BLI was used to follow graft survival, and viable follicle numbers were counted as a measure of success. Bioluminescence intensity fluctuated but was consistent with the end-point counts of viable follicle numbers. Group A showed loss of viable follicles and bioluminescence disappeared as early as day 10 following ovarian engraftment, indicating strong immune rejection. Groups B and C showed graft survival and measurable bioluminescence for up to 30 days. In conclusion, BLI provided non-invasive longitudinal dynamic monitoring of ovarian grafts with excellent sensitivity and spatial resolution. This approach should prove valuable for research on ovarian transplantation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Tri-Service General Hospital, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Yi-Hsin
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Yu-Chi
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Yeh
authors.forename: Chii-Ruey
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Tzeng
authors.forename: Wei-Jen
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Shang
authors.forename: Jah-Yao
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Chi-Huang
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003952:Diagnostic Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006084:Graft Rejection / Q000473:pathology*; D006085:Graft Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D008163:Luminescent Measurements / Q000379:methods; D008164:Luminescent Proteins / Q000032:analysis*; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D016688:Mice, Inbred NOD; D016513:Mice, SCID; D006080:Ovarian Follicle / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology; D010053:Ovary / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology* / Q000637:transplantation*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014184:Transplantation, Homologous
chemical_list: D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents; D008164:Luminescent Proteins