Dissecting tumor maintenance requirements using bioluminescence imaging of cell proliferation in a mouse glioma model.

Bioluminescence imaging has previously been used to monitor the formation of grafted tumors in vivo and measure cell number during tumor progression and response to therapy. The development and optimization of successful cancer therapy strategies may well require detailed and specific assessment of biological processes in response to mechanistic intervention. Here, we use bioluminescence imaging to monitor the cell cycle in a genetically engineered, histologically accurate model of glioma in vivo. In these platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)-driven oligodendrogliomas, G1 cell-cycle arrest is generated by blockade of either the PDGF receptor or mTOR using small-molecule inhibitors.