Sensitive Method for Detecting Viable Cells Seeded into Bone Marrow

摘要

A method for marking viable cells which allows highly sensitive detection of the cells in mixed populations is described. Viable tumor cell lines or normal lymphocytes were stained with the supravital DNA stain Hoechst 33342 (H342) and seeded into human bone marrow. Examination of the marrow mixtures with an inverted fluorescence microscope allows detection of a single H342-stained cell in 1 million marrow cells. H342 staining does not cause significant changes in cell viability or in the sensitivity of the cells to complement mediated lysis. Counterstaining the mixture with trypan blue quenches H342 fluorescence in nonviable cells, limiting detection to only viable cells.