In vivo imaging of bioluminescent Mycobacterium ulcerans: A tool to refine the murine buruli ulcer tail model

Abstract

Buruli ulcer (BU) is a neglected tropical disease caused by infection with Mycobacterium ulcerans. Unclear transmission, no available vaccine, and suboptimal treatment regimens hamper the control of this disease. Carefully designed preclinical research isneeded toaddress these shortcomings. In vivo imaging (IVIS®, Perkin Elmer, Waltham, MA) of infection isan emerging tool that permits monitoringofdisease progression and reduces the needtousing large numbers of miceatdifferent time-points during the experiment, as individual mice can be imaged at multipletime-points. We aimed to further describe the use of in vivo imaging (IVIS) in BU. We studied the detection of M. ulcerans in experimentally..