Noninvasive Imaging of Natural Killer Cell-Mediated Apoptosis in a Mouse Tumor Model.

Natural killer (NK) cells are cytotoxic lymphocytes that induce apoptosis in cancer cells infected with viruses and bacteria through a caspase-3-dependent pathway. Effective NK cell-based immunotherapy requires highly sensitive imaging tools for in vivo monitoring of the dynamic events involved in apoptosis. Here, we describe a noninvasive bioluminescence imaging approach to determine the antitumor effects of NK cell-based therapy by serial imaging of caspase-3-dependent apoptosis in a mouse model of human glioma.