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APOPTOSIS IS A MODE OF CELL DEATH IN THE POLYKARYON‐FORMING UNIT ASSAY
Author(s) -
Manti Lorenzo,
Bowen Ifor D.,
Mason Malcolm D.,
Court Jon B.
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
cell biology international
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.932
H-Index - 77
eISSN - 1095-8355
pISSN - 1065-6995
DOI - 10.1006/cbir.2000.0506
Subject(s) - tunel assay , biology , apoptosis , terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase , cytochalasin , microbiology and biotechnology , chromatin , phosphatidylserine , programmed cell death , cytochalasin b , dna , cell , prophase , biochemistry , cytoskeleton , phospholipid , meiosis , membrane , gene
Abstract In the polykaryon‐forming unit (PFU) assay, which defines cell survival as the ability to form a cytochalasin‐induced polykaryon of predetermined ploidy, the mode of PFU deletion is not known. Incubation of L5178Y‐S PFU in cytochalasin resulted in polyploidy (≥32C) and most polykaryons (>75%) ultimately underwent apoptosis, detected using chromatin condensation and externalised phosphatidylserine. However, large polykaryons carrying terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase‐mediated dUTP nick end‐labelling (TUNEL)‐labelled DNA strand breaks were not observed, presumably due to rapid loss of DNA. Gamma irradiation of PFU prior to cytochalasin exposure caused a reduction in the frequency of highly polyploid cells (>16C), consistent with either a supra‐induction of apoptosis or a reduction in the ability of PFU to reach high ploidies. We conclude that L5178Y‐S PFU are deleted by apoptosis.