Fig. 6.

MIP-Luc-VU islets can be imaged and their mass assessed in vivo after transplantation. MIP-Luc-VU islets were transplanted beneath the kidney capsule (a) or into the liver via portal vein infusion (b) of NOD-scid mice. c Three-dimensional reconstruction of islets beneath the kidney capsule reveals a small, contiguous islet graft within the kidney. Islets are shown as red voxels within the volume of the mouse. d Three-dimensional reconstruction of islets infused via the portal vein reveals islets scattered throughout the liver. e The number of islets transplanted to the renal capsule correlates linearly with bioluminescence and the insulin content of the graft (n=4). f Islets transplanted to the liver display a similar correlation between the number of islets transplanted, bioluminescence, and hepatic insulin content (n=4). The relatively low R2 values in the liver reflect the variability in islet engraftment after portal vein infusion, as indicated by the variability in post-mortem insulin content measurements. The variability in BLI measurements mirrors this inconsistent engraftment of islets in the liver.