Immunofluorescence studies on deoxyribonuclease from mouse teratocarcinoma cells during cell differentiation.

Specific anti-DNase-I IgG have been used to detect deoxyribonuclease in teratocarcinoma cells by an indirect immunofluorescence method. All the cells studied show fluorescence staining. However, the patterns are quite different in embryonal carcinoma cells (amorphous cytoplasmic fluorescence and absence of nuclear staining) as compared to differentiated cell lines (diffuse, bright granular nuclear and fibrillar cytoplasmic fluorescence). It is possible by this method to distinguish different cell types derived from the same origin. Deoxyribonuclease from teratocarcinoma cells can therefore be considered as a marker of cell differentiation in this system.