This work was supported by grants from the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) to H-JZ. TMBW is a recipient of an Australia Postgraduate Award from the Australian Government and the Ann Henderson Top-Up Scholarship from Australian Rotary Health in partner with Rotary of Templestowe and Dine for a Cure.

All animal experiments were approved by the University of Melbourne Animal Ethics Committee.
Note: The sequence, construction and generation protocol for the adenoviral vectors pAd-CMV-Td-Tom, pAd-CMV-GFP and pAd-CAGA12-Luc/Td-Tom have been previously described11,12,13. All vectors are commercially available.
1. Virus Titer Determination ...

<ol>
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We have developed a technique to allow for real-time imaging of TGF-&#946;/Smad3 signaling in single live cells. Using this novel method, we have previously identified a sub-population of cells with dynamic TGF-&#946;/Smad3 transcriptional activity that was associated with enhanced invasion and migration8. This method improves on traditional assays for TGF-&#946; signaling, such as western blots of Smad3 phosphorylation and TGF-&#946; targeted gene expression, by capturing the heterogeneity of TGF...

Transforming Growth Factor &#946; (TGF-&#946;) is an essential cytokine implicated in human development that signals through a heterodimeric complex consisting of type II and type I receptors1. Binding to type II receptor results in the recruitment and phosphorylation of type I receptor, which in turn phosphorylates downstream Smad2/3 proteins2,3. These activated Smad2/3 proteins bind to Smad4, forming a complex that translocates into the nucleus and regulates gene transcription4. Under homeostatic conditions TGF-&#946;/Smad signaling is tightly regulated; however, in many diseases, the signaling pathway is deregulated and often overexpressed leading to progression of disease5,6,7. Recent studies have demonstrated that cellular response to TGF-&#946; is heterogenous and subpopulations of TGF-&#946;/Smad active cells are responsible for biological function in a time-dependent manner8,9. Common cellular analysis of TGF-&#946;/Smad signaling involves the use of fixed endpoint assays that provide only a snapshot of cellular activity and often quantitate the average TGF-&#946;/Smad effect10. These methods, however, may not accurately represent the molecular behaviors of TGF-&#946;/Smad signaling in the physiological state during disease progression. Image-based analysis of live cells capture the dynamics of cellular and biological processes with both a spatial and temporal understanding.
Our goal was to develop a sensitive high-throughput method for live cell imaging of TGF-&#946;/Smad signaling using adenovirus-based reagents. Here, we infected the human breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231 with an adenovirus expressing the Smad3 CAGA motif binding sequence and a luciferase (Luc) or Td-Tomato (Td-Tom) reporter gene. Adenoviral reporter systems provide a quick and cheap method for plasmid introduction that can result in a 100% infection rate in cancer cell lines. Adenoviral reporter systems have also been successfully applied to cell lines that are difficult to transfect with conventional plasmid11. In this protocol we will describe a reproducible and noninvasive process to achieve live cell imaging of the TGF&#946;/Smad signaling pathway both in vivo and in vitro.

<table>
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>DMEM</td>
			<td>ThermoFisher</td>
			<td>1881024</td>
			<td>Warm in 37 &#176;C waterbath before use</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Foetal Bovine Serum</td>
			<td>Scientifix Life</td>
			<td>FBS500-S</td>
			<td>Heat inactivated before use</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Recombinant Human TGF-&#946;1</td>
			<td>PEPROTECH</td>
			<td>100-21</td>
			<td>Aliquot in DDW to make final concentration at 10 mg/mL</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Hoechst-33258</td>
			<td>Tocris Bioscience</td>
			<td>5117</td>
			<td>Dilute in to PBS to make final concentration at 1 &#956;L/mL</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Luciferase Reporter Assay Kit</td>
			<td>Promega</td>
			<td>197897</td>
			<td>Dilute 5x in PBS before use</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Luminometer</td>
			<td>Promega</td>
			<td>9100-002</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Phase contrast fluorescence microscopy</td>
			<td>OLYMPUS</td>
			<td>IX50</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Centrifuge</td>
			<td>eppendorf</td>
			<td>5810 R</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>VivoGl Luciferin</td>
			<td>Promega</td>
			<td>P1041</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>IVIS Lumina III In Vivo Imaging System</td>
			<td>PerkinElmer</td>
			<td>CLS136334</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>0.5% Trypsin-EDTA (10x)</td>
			<td>ThermoFisher</td>
			<td>15400-054</td>
			<td>Diltue to 0.05% (1x) in PBS</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Cell Culture Lysis 5x Reagent</td>
			<td>Promega</td>
			<td>E153A</td>
			<td>Dilute to 1x in DDW</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>10% Formalin</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>F5554-4L</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>HEK 293A</td>
			<td>ThermoFisher</td>
			<td>R70507</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>MDA-MB-231</td>
			<td>ATCC</td>
			<td>CRM-HTB-26</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>PRKDC-SCID</td>
			<td>Animal Resources Centre</td>
			<td>SCIDF6</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Matrigel</td>
			<td>Corning</td>
			<td>354234</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Isoflurane</td>
			<td>Zoetis</td>
			<td>26675-46-7</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Ethanol</td>
			<td>Chem-supply</td>
			<td>EA043-10L-P</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Refresh Night Time</td>
			<td>Allergan</td>
			<td>1750D</td>
			<td>Lubricating Eye Ointment</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Solution</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td>Composition</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Phosphate-Buffered Saline (PBS)</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td>NaH2PO4.2H2O (4 mM); NaHPO4 (16 mM); NaCl (0.12M)</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>FBS-DMEM&#160;</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td>5% heat inactivated FBS; 10 &#956;g/mL penicillin; 100 &#956;g/mL streptomycin</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

live cell imaging of the tgf-	&beta;/smad3 signaling pathway in vitro and in vivo using an adenovirus reporter system

Transforming Growth Factor &#946; (TGF-&#946;) signaling regulates many important functions required for cellular homeostasis and is commonly found overexpressed in many diseases, including cancer. TGF-&#946; is strongly implicated in metastasis during late stage cancer progression, activating a subset of migratory and invasive tumor cells. Current methods for signaling pathway analysis focus on endpoint models, which often attempt to measure signaling post-hoc of the biological event and do not reflect the progressive nature of the disease. Here, we demonstrate a novel adenovirus reporter system specific for the TGF-&#946;/Smad3 signaling pathway that can detect transcriptional activation in live cells. Utilizing an Ad-CAGA12-Td-Tom reporter, we can achieve a 100% infection rate of MDA-MB-231 cells within 24 h in vitro. The use of a fluorescent reporter allows for imaging of live single cells in real-time with direct identification of transcriptionally active cells. Stimulation of infected cells with TGF-&#946; displays only a subset of cells that are transcriptionally active and involved in specific biological functions. This approach allows for high specificity and sensitivity at a single cell level to enhance understanding of biological functions related to TGF-&#946; signaling in vitro. Smad3 transcriptional activity can also be reported in vivo in real-time through the application of an Ad-CAGA12-Luc reporter. Ad-CAGA12-Luc can be measured in the same manner as traditional stably transfected luciferase cell lines. Smad3 transcriptional activity of cells implanted in vivo can be analyzed through conventional IVIS imaging and monitored live during tumor progression, providing unique insight into the dynamics of the TGF-&#946; signaling pathway. Our protocol describes an advantageous reporter delivery system allowing for quick high-throughput imaging of live cell signaling pathways both in vitro and in vivo. This method can be expanded to a range of image based assays and presents as a sensitive and reproducible approach for both basic biology and therapeutic development.

Live single cell imaging in vitro
To accurately assess the activation of TGF-&#946;/Smad signaling in single cells using adenovirus based reagents, it is important to first determine the optimal Multiplicity of Infection (MOI) for each cell line. The optimal MOI is determined when 100% of cells are positive for adenoviral infection with no present cytopathic or cytotoxic effects. To determine this, we used a constitutively...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Live Cell Imaging of the TGF-	ÃŽÂ²/Smad3 Signaling Pathway In Vitro and In Vivo Using an Adenovirus Reporter System at JoVE.com

Live Cell Imaging of the TGF-	ÃƒÆ’Ã…Â½Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â²/Smad3 Signaling Pathway In Vitro and In Vivo Using an Adenovirus Reporter System

Here, we present a protocol for live cell imaging of TGF-&#946;/Smad3 signaling activity using an adenovirus reporter system. This system tracks transcriptional activity in real-time and can be applied to both single cells in vitro and in live animalmodels.

Live Cell Imaging of the TGF-	&beta;/Smad3 Signaling Pathway In Vitro and In Vivo Using an Adenovirus Reporter System

Transforming Growth Factor &#946; (TGF-&#946;) signaling regulates many important functions required for cellular homeostasis and is commonly found ...

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Characterize Disease-related Mutants of RAF Family Kinases by Using a Set of Practical and Feasible Methods

The rapidly accelerated fibrosarcoma (RAF) family kinases play a central role in cell biology and their dysfunction leads to cancers and developmental ...

In Vitro Assay to Study Tumor-macrophage Interaction

Tumor associated macrophages (TAMs) account for a large percentage of cells in the tumor mass for different types of cancers. Glioblastoma (GBM), a ...