title: In vivo bioluminescent imaging (BLI): noninvasive visualization and interrogation of biological processes in living animals.
abstract: In vivo bioluminescent imaging (BLI) is increasingly being utilized as a method for modern biological research. This process, which involves the noninvasive interrogation of living animals using light emitted from luciferase-expressing bioreporter cells, has been applied to study a wide range of biomolecular functions such as gene function, drug discovery and development, cellular trafficking, protein-protein interactions, and especially tumorigenesis, cancer treatment, and disease progression. This article will review the various bioreporter/biosensor integrations of BLI and discuss how BLI is being applied towards a new visual understanding of biological processes within the living organism.
authors.affiliation: The Center for Environmental Biotechnology, 676 Dabney Hall, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA. dclose@utk.edu
authors.forename: Dan M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Close
authors.forename: Tingting
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Gary S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Sayler
authors.forename: Steven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ripp
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015374:Biosensing Techniques; D017930:Genes, Reporter; D008156:Luciferases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D008163:Luminescent Measurements; D023421:Models, Animal
chemical_list: D008156:Luciferases