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Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring cell death in higher eukaryotes.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Galluzzi, L; Aaronson, SA; Abrams, J; Alnemri, ES; Andrews, DW; Baehrecke, EH; Bazan, NG; Blagosklonny, MV; Blomgren, K; Borner, C; Brenner, C ...
Published in: Cell death and differentiation
August 2009

Cell death is essential for a plethora of physiological processes, and its deregulation characterizes numerous human diseases. Thus, the in-depth investigation of cell death and its mechanisms constitutes a formidable challenge for fundamental and applied biomedical research, and has tremendous implications for the development of novel therapeutic strategies. It is, therefore, of utmost importance to standardize the experimental procedures that identify dying and dead cells in cell cultures and/or in tissues, from model organisms and/or humans, in healthy and/or pathological scenarios. Thus far, dozens of methods have been proposed to quantify cell death-related parameters. However, no guidelines exist regarding their use and interpretation, and nobody has thoroughly annotated the experimental settings for which each of these techniques is most appropriate. Here, we provide a nonexhaustive comparison of methods to detect cell death with apoptotic or nonapoptotic morphologies, their advantages and pitfalls. These guidelines are intended for investigators who study cell death, as well as for reviewers who need to constructively critique scientific reports that deal with cellular demise. Given the difficulties in determining the exact number of cells that have passed the point-of-no-return of the signaling cascades leading to cell death, we emphasize the importance of performing multiple, methodologically unrelated assays to quantify dying and dead cells.

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Published In

Cell death and differentiation

DOI

EISSN

1476-5403

ISSN

1350-9047

Publication Date

August 2009

Volume

16

Issue

8

Start / End Page

1093 / 1107

Related Subject Headings

  • Spectrometry, Fluorescence
  • Microscopy, Fluorescence
  • Microscopy, Electron, Scanning
  • Immunoblotting
  • Humans
  • Guidelines as Topic
  • Flow Cytometry
  • Eukaryotic Cells
  • Cell Death
  • Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
 

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Galluzzi, L., Aaronson, S. A., Abrams, J., Alnemri, E. S., Andrews, D. W., Baehrecke, E. H., … Kroemer, G. (2009). Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring cell death in higher eukaryotes. Cell Death and Differentiation, 16(8), 1093–1107. https://doi.org/10.1038/cdd.2009.44
Galluzzi, L., S. A. Aaronson, J. Abrams, E. S. Alnemri, D. W. Andrews, E. H. Baehrecke, N. G. Bazan, et al. “Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring cell death in higher eukaryotes.Cell Death and Differentiation 16, no. 8 (August 2009): 1093–1107. https://doi.org/10.1038/cdd.2009.44.
Galluzzi L, Aaronson SA, Abrams J, Alnemri ES, Andrews DW, Baehrecke EH, et al. Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring cell death in higher eukaryotes. Cell death and differentiation. 2009 Aug;16(8):1093–107.
Galluzzi, L., et al. “Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring cell death in higher eukaryotes.Cell Death and Differentiation, vol. 16, no. 8, Aug. 2009, pp. 1093–107. Epmc, doi:10.1038/cdd.2009.44.
Galluzzi L, Aaronson SA, Abrams J, Alnemri ES, Andrews DW, Baehrecke EH, Bazan NG, Blagosklonny MV, Blomgren K, Borner C, Bredesen DE, Brenner C, Castedo M, Cidlowski JA, Ciechanover A, Cohen GM, De Laurenzi V, De Maria R, Deshmukh M, Dynlacht BD, El-Deiry WS, Flavell RA, Fulda S, Garrido C, Golstein P, Gougeon M-L, Green DR, Gronemeyer H, Hajnóczky G, Hardwick JM, Hengartner MO, Ichijo H, Jäättelä M, Kepp O, Kimchi A, Klionsky DJ, Knight RA, Kornbluth S, Kumar S, Levine B, Lipton SA, Lugli E, Madeo F, Malomi W, Marine J-CW, Martin SJ, Medema JP, Mehlen P, Melino G, Moll UM, Morselli E, Nagata S, Nicholson DW, Nicotera P, Nuñez G, Oren M, Penninger J, Pervaiz S, Peter ME, Piacentini M, Prehn JHM, Puthalakath H, Rabinovich GA, Rizzuto R, Rodrigues CMP, Rubinsztein DC, Rudel T, Scorrano L, Simon H-U, Steller H, Tschopp J, Tsujimoto Y, Vandenabeele P, Vitale I, Vousden KH, Youle RJ, Yuan J, Zhivotovsky B, Kroemer G. Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring cell death in higher eukaryotes. Cell death and differentiation. 2009 Aug;16(8):1093–1107.

Published In

Cell death and differentiation

DOI

EISSN

1476-5403

ISSN

1350-9047

Publication Date

August 2009

Volume

16

Issue

8

Start / End Page

1093 / 1107

Related Subject Headings

  • Spectrometry, Fluorescence
  • Microscopy, Fluorescence
  • Microscopy, Electron, Scanning
  • Immunoblotting
  • Humans
  • Guidelines as Topic
  • Flow Cytometry
  • Eukaryotic Cells
  • Cell Death
  • Biochemistry & Molecular Biology