Recent achievements of bioluminescence imaging based on firefly luciferin-luciferase system

Bioluminescence imaging (BLI) is a newly developed noninvasive visual approach which facilitates the understanding of a plethora of biological processes in vitro and in vivo due to the high sensitivity, resolution and selectivity, low background signal, and the lack of external light excitation. BLI based on firefly luciferin-luciferase system has been widely used for the activity evaluation of tumor-specific enzymes, for the detection of diseases-related bioactive small molecules and metal ions, and for the diagnosis and therapy of diseases including the studies of drug transport, the research of immune response, and the evaluation of drug potency and tissue distribution. In this review, we highlight the recent achievements in luciferin derivatives with red-shifted emission spectra, mutant luciferase-luciferin pairs, and the diagnostic and therapeutic application of BLI based on firefly luciferin-luciferase system. The development and application of BLI will expand our knowledge of the occurrence and development of diseases and shed light on the diagnosis and treatment of various diseases.