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There are several methods to measure apoptosis of cultured cells, targeting for apoptosis related events
like morphological changes, DNA content, enzymatic cleavage of macromolecular structures like DNA and
cytoskeleton, structural changes of the plasma membrane, etc. The choice for a method depends on the
question and probably economics.
For flow cytometry, propidium Iodide is to my knowledge the cheapest way but you will miss a lot of the
apoptotic process. The ApopTag and APOPTEST kits are not the cheapest choice but they return valuable
information. ApopTag measures breaks in DNA strands. It is made commercially available by ONCOR,
Gaithersburg, USA . APOPTEST measures the change of plasma membrane structure, which occurs early
after the start of execution of the apoptotic program. This test is made commercially available by
NeXins Research BV, Hoeven, the Netherlands (Phone +31 165 502291; Fax +31 165 503852).
The best information you could get about apoptosis would currently be the combination of ApopTag and
APOPTEST.
Chris Reutelingsperger
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