Skip to main content
. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2015 Mar 20.
Published in final edited form as: Chem Biol. 2014 Mar 6;21(3):422–429. doi: 10.1016/j.chembiol.2014.01.012

Figure 1. Schematic of the SEAP/Mn-TPPP4 reporter approach.

Figure 1

The secreted alkaline phosphatase reporter enzyme (SEAP, red) is produced by genetically modified cells and acts on the MRI contrast agent Mn-TPPP4 (structure shown), cleaving up to four phosphates and inducing precipitation of the products, which have low solubility compared with Mn-TPPP4. Accumulation of dephosphorylated contrast agents leads to local increases in T1-weighted MRI contrast in the vicinity of cells expressing SEAP.