A Causal Relation between Bioluminescence and Oxygen to Quantify the Cell Niche

PLoS One

Karel Goossens¹  Johan Hofkens²  Dennis Lambrechts³  Hans Van Oosterwyck³  Tom Van de Putte⁴  Maarten Roeffaers⁵  Jan Schrooten⁶ 

[1] Center for Surface Chemistry and Catalysis, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium;Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, United States of America;Department of Metallurgy and Materials Engineering, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium;Molecular Imaging and Photonics, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium;Prometheus, Division of Skeletal Tissue Engineering Leuven, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium;TiGenix NV, Leuven, Belgium

关键词: Oxygen;    Bioluminescence;    Luciferase;    Luciferin;    Gels;    Photons;    Gel electrophoresis;    Fluorescence recovery after photobleaching;   

DOI  :  10.1371/journal.pone.0097572

学科分类：医学（综合）

来源: Public Library of Science

【 摘 要 】

Bioluminescence imaging assays have become a widely integrated technique to quantify effectiveness of cell-based therapies by monitoring fate and survival of transplanted cells. To date these assays are still largely qualitative and often erroneous due to the complexity and dynamics of local micro-environments (niches) in which the cells reside. Here, we report, using a combined experimental and computational approach, on oxygen that besides being a critical niche component responsible for cellular energy metabolism and cell-fate commitment, also serves a primary role in regulating bioluminescent light kinetics. We demonstrate the potential of an oxygen dependent Michaelis-Menten relation in quantifying intrinsic bioluminescence intensities by resolving cell-associated oxygen gradients from bioluminescent light that is emitted from three-dimensional (3D) cell-seeded hydrogels. Furthermore, the experimental and computational data indicate a strong causal relation of oxygen concentration with emitted bioluminescence intensities. Altogether our approach demonstrates the importance of oxygen to evolve towards quantitative bioluminescence and holds great potential for future microscale measurement of oxygen tension in an easily accessible manner.

【 授权许可】

CC BY