Expressing humanized bacterial luciferase in stem cells: Moving beyond firefly luciferase to expand the informational capacity of animal models for regenerative medicine

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 DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project proposes to develop autonomously bioluminescent human stem cells for continuous, reagent-free, and real-time bioimaging to address the National Institutes of Health's request for new techniques for non-invasive, long-term tracking of stem cell survivability, engraftment, and migration following in vivo implantation. The ability of stem cells to self- renew and differentiate into other cell lineages has emerged as a valuable therapeutic approach to functionally heal previously irreparable tissues and organs. However, for the regenerative medicine field to effectively transition toward translational and clinical practice outcomes, a strong dependence on animal models will be required to fully understand the capabilities and complexities of stem cells. 490 BioTech proposes to expand the informational capacity of animal models by creating stem cell lines that self- generate bioluminescent light via expression of a 'humanized' bacterial luciferase, thereby enabling stem cells to be continuously imaged throughout their lifetime as they physiologically function within their animal host. This differs significantly from the current market of bioluminescent imaging technologies that rely on a firefly luciferase gene construct that must be provided with a chemical substrate to activate its light emission response, resulting in only marginally informative single time point snapshots of cell function in tandem with repetitive animal injections that invoke unknown and potentially interfering interactions and adversely effects animal welfare. In partnership with the University o Tennessee Medical Center, the specific objectives of this R&D effort are to develop piggyBac transposition and lentiviral transduction methods for streamlined integration of the bioluminescent phenotype into adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cell lines followed by performance evaluation in in vitro 3D scaffolds and in vivo mouse models to demonstrate proficiency toward uninterrupted imaging and enriched data flows that far exceed that of existing firefly luciferase methods. With no change in instrumentation or fundamental bioluminescent protocols necessary, researchers can seamlessly transition from firefly luciferase to 490 BioTech's humanized bacterial luciferase technology to advance their in vivo experimental R&D to more informative endpoints with fewer animals required. The contribution of this innovative imaging platform to the field of regenerative medicine will provide more physiologically relevant and representative data critical to predicting the efficacy and safety of treatment strategies as they precede to clinical trials.