Molecular Cell Biology Laboratory, Department of Genetics, The Smurfit Institute, Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland.
Methods. 2013 Jun 1;61(2):90-7. doi: 10.1016/j.ymeth.2013.01.008. Epub 2013 Feb 9.
Apoptosis is a programmed mode of cell death that is accompanied by numerous morphological as well as biochemical changes to the cellular architecture. This results not only in cell death but also in the efficient removal of apoptotic cells by phagocytes. Apoptotic cells display a range of common characteristics that include cell shrinkage, plasma membrane blebbing, cell detachment, nuclear condensation, DNA fragmentation, externalization of phosphatidylserine (PS) and activation of caspases. In contrast, necrotic cell death is characterised by rapid plasma membrane, organelle swelling and plasma membrane rupture with none of the features of apoptosis. Apart from severe physical stresses, necrotic cell death often betrays the activities of viral infection and the activities of bacterial toxins. While necrotic cell death is characterized by the release of endogenous 'danger signals' and subsequent inflammation, apoptosis is largely tolergenic. Therefore, care must be taken when assessing whether cells are dying via apoptosis or necrosis. Here, we highlight a number of assays, utilizing both microscopy and flow cytometry, to determine whether cells have undergone apoptosis or alternative modes of cell death.
细胞凋亡是一种程序性的细胞死亡方式，伴随着细胞形态和生化结构的许多变化。这不仅导致细胞死亡，还导致吞噬细胞有效清除凋亡细胞。凋亡细胞表现出一系列共同特征，包括细胞收缩、质膜起泡、细胞脱落、核浓缩、DNA 片段化、磷脂酰丝氨酸（PS）的外化和半胱天冬酶的激活。相比之下，坏死性细胞死亡的特征是质膜迅速肿胀、细胞器肿胀和质膜破裂，没有任何凋亡特征。除了严重的物理应激外，坏死性细胞死亡通常还暴露出病毒感染和细菌毒素的活性。虽然坏死性细胞死亡的特征是释放内源性“危险信号”和随后的炎症，但凋亡在很大程度上是耐受的。因此，在评估细胞是通过凋亡还是坏死死亡时，必须小心。在这里，我们强调了一些利用显微镜和流式细胞术的检测方法，以确定细胞是否经历了凋亡或其他细胞死亡方式。
