Monitoring Apoptosis Using Four Different Assays on a Single System

摘要

Apoptosis, or programmed cell death, is an important and active regulatory pathway of cell growth and proliferation. Cells respond to specific apoptotic induction signals by initiating intracellular processes that result in characteristic physiological changes. Among these changes are externalization of phosphatidylserine to the cell surface, depolarization of mitochondrial membranes, cleavage and degradation of specific cellular proteins, compaction and fragmentation of nuclear chromatin, loss of cell membrane integrity, and cellular shrinkage. Apoptosis is a kinetic event, and the. time period during which cells exhibit the markers of apoptosis is variable and short. The manifestations of apoptotic progression are affected by several factors: 1) the cell type, 2) the cell condition, 3) the treatment to induce apoptosis, and 4) the method used to characterize the physiological change.