Table 3.
Detection and biomarkers of apoptosis in primary hepatocyte cultures
| Biomarkers | Assays |
|---|---|
| General cytotoxicity read-outs | |
| Plasma membrane changes | LDH leakage assay/vital dye exclusion assay |
| Mitochondrial changes | MTT assay |
| Apoptosis-specific read-outs | |
| Morphological changes | Light/transmission electron microscopy |
| Plasma membrane changes | Annexin V staining/flow cytometry |
| Cytosolic changes | Caspase 3 activity assay/immunoblot analysis |
| Mitochondrial changes | Cytochrome C release/DiOC6 staining |
| Nuclear changes | Gel electrophoresis/TUNEL assay |
DiOC6 3,3-dihexyloxacarbocyanine iodide, LDH lactate dehydrogenase; MTT 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium, TUNEL terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase deoxyuridine triphosphate nick end labelling