In vivo imaging of pathogen homing to the host tissues

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2017

Authors

Tavares, J (Author) Other; Costa, DM (Author) Other; Teixeira, AR (Author) Other; Anabela Cordeiro da Silva (Author) FFUP; Amino, R (Author) Other

Journal

Title: Methods

Vol. 127

Pages: 37-44

ISSN: 1046-2023

Publisher: Elsevier

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 3 Citations

Scopus - 10 Citations

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-00N-1GY

DOI: 10.1016/j.ymeth.2017.05.008

Abstract (EN): Hematogenous dissemination followed by tissue tropism is a characteristic of the infectious process of many pathogens including those transmitted by blood-feeding vectors. After entering into the blood circulation, these pathogens must arrest in the target organ before they infect a specific tissue. Here, we describe a non-invasive method to visualize and quantify the homing of pathogens to the host tissues. By using in vivo bioluminescence imaging we quantify the accumulation of luciferase-expressing parasites in the host organs during the first minutes following their intravascular inoculation in mice. Using this technique we show that in the malarial infection, once in the blood circulation, most of bioluminescent Plasmodium berghei sporozoites, the parasite stage transmitted to the host slcin by a mosquito bite, rapidly home to the liver where they invade and develop inside hepatocytes. This homing is specific to this developmental stage since blood stage parasites do not accumulate in the liver, as well as extra cellular Trypanosoma brucei bloodstream forms and liver-infecting Leishmania infantum amastigotes. Finally, this method can be used to study the dynamics of tissue tropism of parasites, dissect the molecular and cellular basis of their increased arrest in organs and to evaluate immune interventions designed to block this targeted interaction.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 8