Non-Invasive In Vivo Bioimaging in Pigs

Abstract

Imaging technologies are used to observe the morphology and function of various organs in the body and have become indispensable in a multitude of fields, ranging from basic research to clinical medicine. The luminescence technology based on the luciferin–luciferase reaction has been used in many research fields as an imaging technique, enabling quantitative analysis and detection at high sensitivity. Specifically in gene therapy and cell therapy, it has been developed as an in vivo bioimaging technique mainly for small animal models because of its non-invasive and time-sequential analysis. Currently, translational research using this luminescence imaging technology in pigs for clinical applications is ongoing. In this review, we discuss the progress of these technologies and issues for their clinical application, focusing on pigs, by comparing conventional imaging techniques, including fluorescent probes, with luminescence imaging techniques.

Keywords

• in vivo imaging
• non-invasive imaging
• luminescence
• pigs