Skip to main content
bioRxiv
  • Home
  • About
  • Submit
  • ALERTS / RSS
Advanced Search
New Results

A Genetically Encoded Reporter for Diffusion Weighted Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Arnab Mukherjee, Di Wu, Hunter C. Davis, Mikhail G. Shapiro
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/037515
Arnab Mukherjee
1Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering,
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Di Wu
2Division of Engineering and Applied Sciences California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Hunter C. Davis
1Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering,
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Mikhail G. Shapiro
1Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering,
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • Abstract
  • Full Text
  • Info/History
  • Metrics
  • Supplementary material
  • Preview PDF
Loading

ABSTRACT

The ability to monitor gene expression in intact, optically opaque animals is important for a multitude of applications including longitudinal imaging of transgene expression and long term tracking of cell based therapeutics. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) could enable such monitoring with high spatial and temporal resolution. However, existing MRI reporter genes, based primarily on metal-binding proteins or chemical exchange saturation transfer probes, are limited by their reliance on metal ions or relatively low sensitivity. In this work, we introduce a new class of genetically encoded reporters for MRI that work by altering water diffusivity. We show that overexpression of the human water channel aquaporin 1 (AQP1) produces robust contrast in diffusion weighted MRI by increasing effective water diffusivity in tissues by over 100% without affecting cell viability or morphology. Low levels of AQP1 expression (˜1 μM), or mixed populations comprising as few as 10% AQP1-expressing cells, produce sufficient contrast to be observed by MRI. We demonstrate the utility of AQP1 in vivo by imaging gene expression in intracranial tumor xenografts. Overall, our results establish AQP1 as a new, metal-free, nontoxic and sensitive genetically encoded reporter for diffusion weighted MRI.

Copyright 
The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. All rights reserved. No reuse allowed without permission.
Back to top
PreviousNext
Posted January 25, 2016.
Download PDF

Supplementary Material

Email

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word about bioRxiv.

NOTE: Your email address is requested solely to identify you as the sender of this article.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
A Genetically Encoded Reporter for Diffusion Weighted Magnetic Resonance Imaging
(Your Name) has forwarded a page to you from bioRxiv
(Your Name) thought you would like to see this page from the bioRxiv website.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Share
A Genetically Encoded Reporter for Diffusion Weighted Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Arnab Mukherjee, Di Wu, Hunter C. Davis, Mikhail G. Shapiro
bioRxiv 037515; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/037515
Digg logo Reddit logo Twitter logo Facebook logo Google logo LinkedIn logo Mendeley logo
Citation Tools
A Genetically Encoded Reporter for Diffusion Weighted Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Arnab Mukherjee, Di Wu, Hunter C. Davis, Mikhail G. Shapiro
bioRxiv 037515; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/037515

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One

Subject Area

  • Bioengineering
Subject Areas
All Articles
  • Animal Behavior and Cognition (3686)
  • Biochemistry (7774)
  • Bioengineering (5668)
  • Bioinformatics (21245)
  • Biophysics (10563)
  • Cancer Biology (8162)
  • Cell Biology (11915)
  • Clinical Trials (138)
  • Developmental Biology (6738)
  • Ecology (10388)
  • Epidemiology (2065)
  • Evolutionary Biology (13843)
  • Genetics (9694)
  • Genomics (13056)
  • Immunology (8123)
  • Microbiology (19956)
  • Molecular Biology (7833)
  • Neuroscience (42973)
  • Paleontology (318)
  • Pathology (1276)
  • Pharmacology and Toxicology (2256)
  • Physiology (3350)
  • Plant Biology (7208)
  • Scientific Communication and Education (1309)
  • Synthetic Biology (1999)
  • Systems Biology (5528)
  • Zoology (1126)