Non-invasive three-dimensional imaging of Escherichia coli K1 infection using diffuse light imaging tomography combined with micro-computed tomography

Methods : a Companion to Methods in Enzymology
Luci A WitcombPeter W Taylor

Abstract

In contrast to two-dimensional bioluminescence imaging, three dimensional diffuse light imaging tomography with integrated micro-computed tomography (DLIT-μCT) has the potential to realise spatial variations in infection patterns when imaging experimental animals dosed with derivatives of virulent bacteria carrying bioluminescent reporter genes such as the lux operon from the bacterium Photorhabdus luminescens. The method provides an opportunity to precisely localise the bacterial infection sites within the animal and enables the generation of four-dimensional movies of the infection cycle. Here, we describe the use of the PerkinElmer IVIS SpectrumCT in vivo imaging system to investigate progression of lethal systemic infection in neonatal rats following colonisation of the gastrointestinal tract with the neonatal pathogen Escherichia coli K1. We confirm previous observations that these bacteria stably colonize the colon and small intestine following feeding of the infectious dose from a micropipette; invading bacteria migrate across the gut epithelium into the blood circulation and establish foci of infection in major organs, including the brain. DLIT-μCT revealed novel multiple sites of colonisation within the alimentary cana...Continue Reading

Citations

Jun 8, 2018·Future Microbiology·Peter W Taylor, Kevin P Francis

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