Hepa1-6-FLuc cell line with the stable expression of firefly luciferase retains its primary properties with promising bioluminescence imaging ability

Non-invasive In Vivo Tracking of Mammalian Cells Stably Expressing Firefly Luciferase

Firefly luciferase (FLuc)-based in vivo optical imaging technology exerts the non-invasive monitoring of transplanted cells in experimental animal models. This chapter introduces an established cell line that stably expresses a retrovirus-delivered FLuc protein gene. The stable expression does not affect the cell morphology, proliferation, migration, and invasion abilities of the parental cells. After implantation, the bioluminescence signal of FLuc cells truly reflects cell proliferation and survival in vivo, which can provide a reliable method for dynamic detection of in vivo cell transplantation.