At present, nuclear condensation and fragmentation have been estimated also using Hoechst probes in fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry. However, none of the methods used the Hoechst probes for quantitative spectrofluorometric assessment. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to develop a spectrofluorometric assay for detection of nuclear condensation and fragmentation in the intact cells. We used human hepatoma HepG2 and renal HK-2 cells cultured in 96-well plates treated with potent apoptotic inducers (i.e. cisplatin, staurosporine, camptothecin) for 6-48 h. Afterwards, the cells were incubated with Hoechst 33258 (2 µg/mL) and the increase of fluorescence after binding of the dye to DNA was measured. The developed spectrofluorometric assay was capable to detect nuclear changes caused by all tested apoptotic inducers. Then, we compared the outcomes of the spectrofluorometric assay with other methods detecting cell impairment and apoptosis (i.e. WST-1 and glutathione tests, TUNEL, DNA ladder, caspase activity, PARP-1 and JNKs expressions). We found that our developed spectrofluorometric assay provided results of the same sensitivity as the TUNEL assay but with the advantages of being fast processing, low-cost and a high throughput. Because nuclear condensation and fragmentation can be typical markers of cell death, especially in apoptosis, we suppose that the spectrofluorometric assay could become a routinely used method for characterizing cell death processes.

• MeSH
• apoptóza účinky léků   MeSH
• bisbenzimidazol chemie   MeSH
• buněčná smrt účinky léků   MeSH
• buněčné jádro účinky léků   metabolismus   MeSH
• buněčné linie MeSH
• buňky Hep G2 MeSH
• cisplatina farmakologie   MeSH
• fluorescenční mikroskopie metody   MeSH
• fluorescenční spektrometrie metody   MeSH
• fragmentace DNA účinky léků   MeSH
• kamptothecin farmakologie   MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• protinádorové látky farmakologie   MeSH
• průtoková cytometrie metody   MeSH
• reprodukovatelnost výsledků MeSH
• staurosporin farmakologie   MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Názvy látek
• bisbenzimidazol MeSH
• cisplatina MeSH
• kamptothecin MeSH
• protinádorové látky MeSH
• staurosporin MeSH

Apoptosis has been recognized as a type of programmed cell death connected with characteristic morphological and biochemical changes in cells. This programmed cell death plays an important role in the genesis of a number of physiological and pathological processes. Thus, it can be very important to detect the signs of apoptosis in a study of cellular metabolism. The present paper provides an overview of methods often being used for detecting DNA fragmentation as one of the most specific findings in apoptosis. To date, three routine assays have been developed for detecting DNA fragmentation: DNA ladder assay, TUNEL assay, and comet assay. All these methods differ in their principles for detecting DNA fragmentation. DNA ladder assay detects the characteristic "DNA ladder" pattern formed during internucleosomal cleavage of DNA. Terminal deoxynUcleotidyl transferase Nick-End Labeling (TUNEL) assay detects DNA strand breaks using terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase catalyzing attachment of modified deoxynucleotides on the DNA strand breaks. Comet assay can be used for detecting nucleus breakdown producing single/double-strand DNA breaks. The aim of this review is to describe the present knowledge on these three methods, including optimized approaches, techniques, and limitations.

• Klíčová slova
• Apoptosis, Apoptosis assays, Comet assay, DNA fragmentation, DNA ladder, TUNEL assay,
• MeSH
• apoptóza genetika   fyziologie   MeSH
• biotest metody   MeSH
• DNA analýza   genetika   metabolismus   MeSH
• fragmentace DNA * MeSH
• kometový test metody   MeSH
• koncové značení zlomů DNA in situ metody   MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• přehledy MeSH
• Názvy látek
• DNA MeSH