Constraints to counting bioluminescence producing cells by a commonly used transgene promoter and its implications for experimental design.

ABSTRACT: It is routine to genetically modify cells to express fluorescent or bioluminescent reporter proteins to enable tracking or quantification of cells in vitro and in vivo. Herein, we characterized the stability of luciferase reporter systems in C4-2B prostate cancer cells in mono-culture and in co-culture with bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (BMSC). An assumption made when employing the luciferase reporter is that the luciferase expressing cell number and bioluminescence signal are linearly proportional. We observed instances where luciferase expression was significantly upregulated in C4-2B cell populations when co-cultured with BMSC, resulting in a significant disconnect between bioluminescence signal and cell number. We subsequently characterized luciferase reporter stab

SUBMITTER: Mosaad EO 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6683182 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature