Figure 1. Multimodal imaging of tibial tumor.

Four-week old athymic nude mice were inoculated with MDA-MB-231 cells directly into the tibia and monitored for tumor growth and bone destruction at 3–4 weeks. (A) Tumor cell growth was measured using CRI Maestro for in vivo fluorescence imaging. (B) Tumor-induced bone destruction was monitored using the Faxitron LX-60 X-ray system. (C) Maestro and Faxitron images were aligned by the mouse spinal cord to demonstrate tumor cell fluorescence within the bone. (D) To stablize tumor-bearing limbs for subsequent MRI and tissue proteomic analysis, the anesthetized mouse was placed on a custom built holder within the RF coil (solid arrow). (E) The mouse legs were attached with surgical tape to a long cotton swab (solid arrow) placed through a small (~ 3 cm in each dimension) Styrofoam cube (dashed arrow). (F) The Styrofoam cube holds the cotton swab and mouse legs taut so that when the legs are centered within the coil, they are unlikely to move during the imaging process. (G) ADC images of an MDA-MB-231 cell tumor 3 weeks after injection. The dark region (white arrow) indicates an area of restricted water diffusion (decreased ADC) which correlates with the increased cellularity typical of tumors. (H) 3-dimensional volumetric rendering of tumor from the high resolution 3D MRI data with tumor false-colored in red.