Luciferase (luc) expression in BALB/c mice injected with wild-type or 3JCLI4-targeted phage is only modestly affected by clodronate-mediated depletion of phagocytic cells

<p><b>Copyright information:</b></p><p>Taken from " gene delivery and expression by bacteriophage lambda vectors"</p><p></p><p>Journal of Applied Microbiology 2007;102(5):1337-1349.</p><p>Published online Jan 2007</p><p>PMCID:PMC2063594.</p><p>© 2007 The Authors Journal compilation © 2007 The Society for Applied Microbiology</p> (a) Mice (four per group) were injected with clodronate liposomes via a combined IP and ID route, to deplete both local and systemic phagocytic cells (black bars) or were left untreated (white bars). Forty-eight hours later, 1 × 10 PFU of either gpD (luc) phage or 3JCLI4 (luc) phage, or 100 g of gWIZ (luc) plasmid DNA was injected ID at the tail base site, and luc expression was measured 24 h thereafter at the tail base site of injection. A decrease in luc gene expression in animals treated with clodronate liposomes prior to phage or DNA injection was observed, although this decrease was not statistically significant ( > 0·05, Student's two-tailed -test). (b) After imaging, mice were killed and splenocytes were stained for F4/80 (a cell surface marker for macrophages). Mice that received clodronate liposomes had a decrease in F4/80-positive splenocytes, as measured by flow cytometric analysis. A representative staining profile for one control animal (left) and one clodronate-treated animal (right) is shown in the lower part of panel b, and mean data from all animals are shown in graphical form in the upper part of panel B (bars denote SDs)