Observation of luciferase expansion in artificial blood vessels using bioluminescence using MRI
Engineers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed a new technique that uses magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to detect light deep in the brain. This could be useful for future research on brain cell development and communication.
was announced on natural biomedical engineeringThis new technology could help researchers investigate the inner workings of the brain, including changes in gene expression, the anatomical connections between cells, and how they communicate with each other.
Typically, scientists label cells with bioluminescent proteins that emit light so they can track tumor growth or measure changes in gene expression that occur as cells differentiate.
The new technology, known as bioluminescence, uses MRI to look at the expansion of proteins in blood vessels in the brain and pinpoint the source of the light.
Researchers have devised a way to detect luciferase, a protein in different forms that glows in different colors deep inside the brain, by turning blood vessels in the brain into light detectors.
The researchers engineered blood vessels to express a bacterial protein called Begiator photoactivated adenylate cyclase (bPAC) to make them sensitive to light, and the enzyme produces a molecule known as cAMP, which They observed that it dilated blood vessels, which could be detected on MRI.
The researchers implanted cells engineered to express luciferase in the presence of the CZT substrate, and were able to detect luciferase on MRI and reveal dilated blood vessels. After using a viral vector to deliver the bPAC gene to rats, large areas of blood vessels in the brain became photosensitive.
The researchers then introduced a gene for a type of luciferase called GLuc into cells in the striatum, deep in the brain, and were able to detect the light emitted by the brain’s own cells.
The researchers plan to further study the technology in mice and other animal models.
