Caliper Life Sciences Xenogen IVIS Imager

描述（由申请人提供）：基础研究和转化研究的一个主要组成部分涉及阐明生长和发育过程中组织再生、修复和重塑的机制，以深入了解这些过程在包括炎症、糖尿病和癌症在内的病理疾病中是如何出错的，并促进新的诊断和治疗的发展。体内光学成像现在被认为是实现这些目标和评估发育和疾病模型的关键策略。体内光学成像大致可分为生物发光成像和荧光成像。生物发光成像需要转基因动物或基因工程细胞表达发光报告基因，如萤火虫荧光素酶，自发产生光信号并报告活体动物的特定基因表达。荧光成像需要外部光源激发和适当的发射滤光片来捕获来自转基因动物或细胞或可注射到动物体内的光学探针的荧光发射信号。光学成像易于使用，具有快速采集，直接成像重建和分析；它可以在高吞吐量设置下运行。在本提案中，我们寻求资金购买最先进的Caliper生命科学/Xenogen光谱成像系统，这是一种用于无创活体小动物成像的多方面生物发光和荧光成像仪器，具有多种功能，可协助研究人员推进加州大学旧金山帕纳萨斯海茨校区的生物医学研究。该系统易于基本用户使用，并具有复杂和先进的功能，有利于更有经验的成像用户。该成像系统结合了生物发光和荧光成像、外源性发光和反照、光谱分解和生物发光和荧光信号的三维重建的所有要求。该仪器具有独特的功能，可以去除自身荧光，提高信号与背景比，并允许在单个动物中同时成像多个荧光团，这有助于研究人员量化体内光信号，并研究特定疾病中的多种分子途径。该仪器的先进技术将为研究人员提供组织再生和修复事件或肿瘤生长的成像能力，并可视化免疫细胞的运输，小肿瘤的生长和转移以及活体动物胰岛的再生。在小动物身上对这些事件成像的能力，以及使用成像数据的能力，将简化临床前治疗研究，这些研究对患者有直接的可翻译性。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): A major component of basic and translational research involves elucidating the mechanisms underlying tissue regeneration, repair and remodeling during growth and development, for gaining insights into how these processes go awry in pathologic disorders, including inflammation, diabetes and cancer, and for and expediting development of new diagnostics and treatments. Optical imaging in vivo is now recognized as a critical strategy for achieving these goals and for evaluating developmental and disease models. In vivo optical imaging can be broadly classified into bioluminescence imaging and fluorescence imaging. Bioluminescence imaging requires transgenic animals or cells that are genetically engineered to express a luminescent reporter gene such as firefly luciferase that spontaneously generates an optical signal and reports specific gene expression in live animals. Fluorescence imaging requires an external light source for excitation and appropriate emission filters to capture fluorescent emission signals from transgenic animals or cells or from an optical probe that can be injected into the animal. Optical imaging is easy to use with fast acquisitions, straight forward imaging reconstructions and analysis; and it can be operated under high throughput settings. In this proposal, we seek funding to purchase a state-of-the-art Caliper Life Sciences/Xenogen Spectrum Imaging System, which is a multifaceted bioluminescence and fluorescence imaging instrument for noninvasive live small animal imaging, with versatile capabilities to assist investigators to advance biomedical research on the Parnassus Heights Campus of the University of California, San Francisco. This system that is readily used by basic users and has sophisticated and advanced capabilities beneficial to more experienced imaging users. This imaging system incorporates all the requirements for bioluminescence and fluorescence imaging, epi, and trans-illuminations, spectral unmixing and three-dimensional reconstruction of both bioluminescent and fluorescent signals. This instrument offers unique capabilities to remove autofluorescence, improve signal-to-background ratio and allow for simultaneous imaging of multiple fluorophores in a single animal that help researchers to quantify in vivo optical signals, and investigate multiple molecular pathways in a given disease. The advanced technology of this instrument will provide the investigators with the ability to image tissue regeneration and repair events or tumor growth and to visualize trafficking of immune cells, growth and metastasis of small tumors and regenerating pancreatic islets in live animals. The ability to image these events in small animals, and to use imaging data will streamline preclinical therapeutic studies, which have direct translatability to patients. Public Health Relevance: Developing mouse models for diabetes, immune disorders and common cancers are essential to better understand the biology of these diseases and to establish effective preclinical therapies that can be translated to people with comparable disorders. The translational potential of this work will be greatly enhanced by the acquisition of a imaging system. The ability to image tissue repair events, regenerating pancreatic islets or tumor growth noninvasively in small animals will streamline preclinical therapeutic studies, which have direct translatability to patients.