Bioluminescence imaging (BLI) has been introduced for studies of ongoing biological processes but has never been applied for ovarian transplantation. Here, BLI was used as a novel approach to trace the survival of ovarian grafts. The ovarian donors were transgenic mice carrying FVB/N-Tg (PolII-luc) as a reporter gene, encoding luciferase to catalyse luciferin which results in visible light emission as bioluminescence. There were three groups of recipients: (i) group A: BALB/c mice without immunosuppressant treatment; (ii) group B: BALB/c mice receiving a cocktail immunosuppressant treatment; and (iii) group C: immunodeficient NOD-SCID mice without immunosuppression. Luciferin BLI was used to follow graft survival, and viable follicle numbers were counted as a measure of success. Bioluminescence intensity fluctuated but was consistent with the end-point counts of viable follicle numbers. Group A showed loss of viable follicles and bioluminescence disappeared as early as day 10 following ovarian engraftment, indicating strong immune rejection. Groups B and C showed graft survival and measurable bioluminescence for up to 30 days. In conclusion, BLI provided non-invasive longitudinal dynamic monitoring of ovarian grafts with excellent sensitivity and spatial resolution. This approach should prove valuable for research on ovarian transplantation.
Animals Diagnostic Imaging