Open AccessLIMITATIONS IN THE USE OF [ 3 H]THYMIDINE INCORPORATION INTO DNA AS AN INDICATOR OF EPIDERMAL KERATINOCYTE PROLIFERATION IN VITRO
Author(s) -
Davison P.,
Liu S.,
Karasek M.
Publication year - 1979
Publication title -
cell proliferation
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.647
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1365-2184
pISSN - 0960-7722
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2184.1979.tb00180.x
Subject(s) - thymidine , dna synthesis , keratinocyte , cell growth , in vitro , biology , dna , thymidine kinase , microbiology and biotechnology , cell division , cell culture , biochemistry , cell , immunology , genetics , virus , herpes simplex virus
ABSTRACT The validity of using the incorporation of [ 3 H]thymidine into DNA as an indicator of epidermal keratinocyte proliferation in vitro has been investigated. Other parameters of cell proliferation, direct count of cell number and measurement of DNA content, consistently fail to correlate with changes in [ 3 H]thymidine incorporation into DNA in primary and first passage cultures of rabbit and human epidermal keratinocytes. Maximum incorporation of [ 3 H]thymidine precedes the active growth period by three days. Incorporation declines markedly during the proliferative period. Thymidine kinase activity decreases during the proliferative growth phase. Incorporation of another pyrimidine nucleotide precursor, [ 14 C]aspartic acid, suggests that in epidermal keratinocytes in vitro the extent of utilization of the salvage and the de novo pathways may be inversely related. In such cases [ 3 H]thymidine incorporation into TCA precipitable material fails to reflect accurately cell proliferation.