Multi-Modal Imaging with a Toolbox of Influenza A Reporter Viruses

• Published in: Viruses Vol. 7; no. 10; pp. 5319 - 5327
• Main Authors: Tran, Vy, Poole, Daniel S, Jeffery, Justin J, Sheahan, Timothy P, Creech, Donald, Yevtodiyenko, Aleksey, Peat, Andrew J, Francis, Kevin P, You, Shihyun, Mehle, Andrew
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI 13.10.2015
• Subjects: Animals; Antiviral Agents - therapeutic use; Communication; Disease Models, Animal; Female; Genes, Reporter; Influenza A virus - growth & development; Luminescent Measurements - methods; Mice, Inbred BALB C; Multimodal Imaging - methods; Optical Imaging - methods; Orthomyxoviridae Infections - drug therapy; Orthomyxoviridae Infections - pathology; Orthomyxoviridae Infections - virology; Staining and Labeling - methods; Treatment Outcome; Viral Load; Whole Body Imaging - methods; influenza virus; multi-modal imaging; reporter virus; multiplicity reactivation
• ISSN: 1999-4915; 1999-4915
• DOI: 10.3390/v7102873

Reporter viruses are useful probes for studying multiple stages of the viral life cycle. Here we describe an expanded toolbox of fluorescent and bioluminescent influenza A reporter viruses. The enhanced utility of these tools enabled kinetic studies of viral attachment, infection, and co-infection. Multi-modal bioluminescence and positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET/CT) imaging of infected animals revealed that antiviral treatment reduced viral load, dissemination, and inflammation. These new technologies and applications will dramatically accelerate in vitro and in vivo influenza virus studies.