In situ detection of fragmented dna (tunel assay) fails to discriminate among apoptosis, necrosis, and autolytic cell death: A cautionary note
✍ Scribed by Bettina Grasl Kraupp; Branislav Ruttkay-Nedecky; Helga Koudelka; Krystyna Bukowska; Wilfried Bursch; Rolf Schulte-Hermann
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 1995
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 545 KB
- Volume
- 21
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0270-9139
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
Detection of DNA fragments in situ using the terminal deoxyribonucleotidyl transferase (TDTbmediated dUTP-digoxigenin nick end labeling (TUNEL) assay is increasingly applied to investigate active cell death (apoptosis). We studied the specificity of the assay i n well-defined models of apoptosis and necrosis as well as in postmortem autolysis in rat liver. During involution of liver hyperplasia, which follows stopping treatment with the hepatomitogens cyproterone acetate (CPA) or nafenopin (NAF 1, numerous apoptotic hepatocytes could be observed with TUNEL-positive chromatin residues. A similar TUNEL-positive reaction appeared in necrotic hepatocytes after a cytotoxic dose of carbon tetrachloride (CCLJ or N-nitrosomorpholine (NNM). Also, in insufficiently fixed, autolytic livers TUNEL-positive nuclei were observed. Thus, DNAfragmentation is common to different kinds of cell death; its detection in situ should not be considered a specific marker of apoptosis.