Unique spectral signatures of the nucleic acid dye acridine orange can distinguish cell death by apoptosis and necroptosis.

ABSTRACT: Cellular injury and death are ubiquitous features of disease, yet tools to detect them are limited and insensitive to subtle pathological changes. Acridine orange (AO), a nucleic acid dye with unique spectral properties, enables real-time measurement of RNA and DNA as proxies for cell viability during exposure to various noxious stimuli. This tool illuminates spectral signatures unique to various modes of cell death, such as cells undergoing apoptosis versus necrosis/necroptosis. This new approach also shows that cellular RNA decreases during necrotic, necroptotic, and apoptotic cell death caused by demyelinating, ischemic, and traumatic injuries, implying its involvement in a wide spectrum of tissue pathologies. Furthermore, cells with pathologically low levels of cytoplasmic RNA are dete

SUBMITTER: Plemel JR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5379938 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature