Non-invasive molecular and functional imaging of cytosine deaminase and uracil phosphoribosyltransferase fused with red fluorescence protein

摘要

IntroductionIncreased expression of cytosine deaminase (CD) and uracil phosphoribosyltransferase (UPRT) may improve the antitumoral effect of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and 5-fluorocytosine (5-FC), and thereby enhance the potential of gene-directed enzyme prodrug therapy. For the applicability of gene-directed enzyme prodrug therapy in a clinical setting, it is essential to be able to monitor the transgene expression and function in vivo. Thus, we developed a preclinical tumor model to investigate the feasibility of using magnetic resonance spectroscopy and optical imaging to measure non-invasively CD and UPRT expression and function.