PHM450 cellular tox assays

Tobi Limke17 minutes read

Viability and cytotoxicity assays are essential for measuring cell health and death, with a focus on identifying stressed or damaged cells using various techniques and markers. Specific assays like calcium dysregulation with Fura 2 a.m. and caspase activation in apoptosis kits are discussed as key methods for assessing cellular toxicity and identifying different cell death pathways.

Insights

  • Viability assays focus on determining if cells are alive and metabolically active, while cytotoxicity assays measure cell death caused by toxic substances, providing insights into cell health and life status.
  • Different assays, such as monitoring calcium dysregulation with fluorescent dyes like Fura 2 a.m. or assessing redox status with glutathione kits, offer valuable insights into cellular vulnerabilities and responses to stressors, showcasing the diverse approaches available to study cellular toxicity.

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Recent questions

  • What do viability assays determine?

    Cell health and metabolic activity.

  • How are cytotoxicity assays different from viability assays?

    They measure cell death due to toxic insult.

  • What is the significance of calcium dysregulation in cells?

    It can lead to cell death.

  • How do glutathione assays help in monitoring cell vulnerability?

    By indicating redox status.

  • What is the role of caspase-3 in apoptosis kits?

    It serves as a convergence point for initiators.

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Summary

00:00

Cellular Toxicity Assays: Viability and Cytotoxicity Measurements

  • Lecture covers practical assays for measuring cellular toxicity
  • Focus on recognizing basic in vitro assays and linking them to endpoints
  • Assays aim to identify stressed, damaged, or dead cells
  • Viability assays determine if cells are living and metabolically active
  • Cytotoxicity assays measure cell death due to toxic insult
  • Viability assays focus on cell health and life status, while cytotoxicity assays count living and dead cells
  • Assays can observe single cells or be automated for high-throughput screening
  • Calcium dysregulation can lead to cell death, measured using fluorescent dyes like Fura 2 a.m.
  • Glutathione assays monitor redox status, indicating cell vulnerability to oxidative stress
  • Glutathione kits are relatively inexpensive and require a spectrophotometer for reading absorbance

19:39

Assays for Apoptosis and Necrosis Detection

  • Caspase-3 is a key focus in apoptosis kits due to its early activation and role as a convergence point for multiple initiators, but these assays only measure apoptosis, not necrosis, as necrosis does not involve caspase activation.
  • Specific examples of assays are discussed, such as live and dead cell staining using a combination of thid 'i'm homodimer and calcium am, measuring ATP levels with luciferase, and using stauros pouring as a positive control in caspase-3 assays.
  • Fura 2 a.m. is utilized to measure intracellular calcium concentrations, while trypan blue exclusion assay distinguishes between live and dead cells based on membrane integrity, with dead cells taking up the dye.
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