In vivo optical imaging of cancer cell function and tumor microenvironment

• Published in: Cancer science Vol. 109; no. 4; pp. 912 - 918
• Main Authors: Imamura, Takeshi, Saitou, Takashi, Kawakami, Ryosuke
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.04.2018; John Wiley and Sons Inc
• Subjects: Animals; Biology; Bioluminescence; bioluminescence imaging; Biopsy; Cancer; Dimensional analysis; Fluorescence; fluorescence imaging; Fluorescent indicators; Genes; Growth factors; Humans; Invasiveness; Kinases; Laboratories; Luminescent Measurements - methods; Medical research; Metastases; Metastasis; Microscopy; Microscopy, Fluorescence - methods; Neoplasms - diagnosis; Neoplasms - pathology; Proteins; Review; Sensitivity and Specificity; Signal transduction; Stem cells; tumor microenvironment; Tumor Microenvironment - physiology; two‐photon excitation microscopy; Visualization; bioluminescence imaging; tumor microenvironment; metastasis; fluorescence imaging; two-photon excitation microscopy
• ISSN: 1347-9032; 1349-7006
• DOI: 10.1111/cas.13544

In vivo optical imaging using fluorescence and bioluminescence is superior to other methods in terms of spatiotemporal resolution and specificity, and represents a new technology for comprehensively studying living organisms in a less invasive way. Nowadays, it is an indispensable technology for studying many aspects of cancer biology, including dynamic invasion and metastasis. In observations of fluorescence or bioluminescence signals in a living body, various problems were caused by optical characteristics such as absorption and scattering and, therefore, observation of deep tissue was difficult. Recent developments in techniques for observation of the deep tissues of living animals overcame this difficulty by improving bioluminescent proteins, fluorescent proteins, and fluorescent dyes, as well as detection technologies such as two‐photon excitation microscopy. In the present review, we introduce these technological developments and in vivo application of bioluminescence and fluorescence imaging, and discuss future perspectives on the use of in vivo optical imaging technology in cancer research. In vivo imaging technology is a method for non‐invasively visualizing and analyzing various biological phenomena occurring within a living body. In recent years, image diagnostic technology capable of molecular‐level imaging has developed dramatically in the medical field. In this review, we introduce in vivo application of advanced bioluminescence and fluorescence imaging, and discuss future perspectives on the use of in vivo optical imaging technology in cancer research.