Optical imaging of molecular signatures in pulmonary inflammation

Biomedical imaging has become an important tool in the study of "-omics" fields by allowing the noninvasive visualization of functional and molecular events using in vivo staining and reporter gene approaches. This capacity can go beyond the understanding of the genetic basis and phenotype of such respiratory conditions as acute bronchitis, adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and asthma and investigate the development of disease and of therapeutic events longitudinally and in unperturbed environments. Herein, we show how the application of novel quantitative optical imaging methods, using transillumination and fluorescence molecular tomography (FMT), can allow visualization of pulmonary inflammation in small animals in vivo. The results confirm prior observations using a protease-sensitive probe. We discuss how this approach enables in vivo insights at the system level as to the dynamic role of proteases in respiratory pathophysiology and their potential as therapeutic targets. Overall, the proposed imaging method can be used with a significantly wider range of possible targets and applications in lung imaging.