Caliper Life Sciences Xenogen IVIS Imager

描述（由申请人提供）：基础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病理性疾病（包括炎症、糖尿病和癌症）中是如何出错的，并加快新诊断和治疗方法的开发。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。体内光学成像可以大致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细胞，其被遗传工程化以表达发光报告基因，例如萤火虫荧光素酶，其自发地产生光学信号并报告活动物中的特异性基因表达。荧光成像需要用于激发的外部光源和适当的发射滤光器以捕获来自转基因动物或细胞或来自可注射到动物中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功能;并且可以在高通量设置下操作。 在这项提案中，我们寻求资金购买最先进的Caliper Life Sciences/Xenogen Spectrum Imaging System，这是一种多方面的生物发光和荧光成像仪器，用于非侵入性活体小动物成像，具有多功能，可帮助研究人员推进加州大学弗朗西斯科分校帕纳萨斯高地校区的生物医学研究。该系统易于由基本用户使用，并且具有对更有经验的成像用户有益的复杂和高级功能。该成像系统结合了生物发光和荧光成像，epi和trans-illuminations，光谱解混和三维重建的生物发光和荧光信号的所有要求。该仪器具有独特的功能，可去除自体荧光，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，帮助研究人员量化体内光学信号，并研究给定疾病中的多个分子途径。该仪器的先进技术将为研究人员提供成像组织再生和修复事件或肿瘤生长的能力，并可视化免疫细胞的运输，小肿瘤的生长和转移以及活动物中再生的胰岛。在小动物中对这些事件进行成像并使用成像数据的能力将简化临床前治疗研究，这些研究可直接转化为患者。 公共卫生相关性：开发糖尿病、免疫疾病和常见癌症的小鼠模型对于更好地了解这些疾病的生物学和建立有效的临床前治疗方法至关重要，这些治疗方法可以应用于患有类似疾病的人。这项工作的平移潜力将大大提高了成像系统的收购。在小动物中对组织修复事件、胰岛再生或肿瘤生长进行非侵入性成像的能力将简化临床前治疗研究，这些研究可直接转化为患者。

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.