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 is needed to address these shortcomings. In vivo imaging (IVIS®, Perkin Elmer, Waltham, MA) of infection is an emerging tool that permits monitoring of disease progression and reduces the need to using large numbers of mice at different time-points during the experiment, as individual mice can be imaged at multiple time-points. We aimed to further describe the use of in vivo imaging (IVIS) in BU. We studied the detection of M. ulcerans in expe..