Abstract
1. Apoptosis as the mechanism of cell death induced by a new cytotoxic and anticancer agent (N.C.1213) was investigated by morphological and biochemical criteria in human Jurkat T leukemia cells.
2. The effect of N.C.1213 on the survival of Jurkat T, LV-50, H-9, and Molt-3 cells was measured. Jurkat T cells exhibited the highest response, with less than 10% of the cells remaining viable after exposure to 10 μM N.C.1213 for a 24 hr period. All other cell cultures were also affected but to a lesser extent.
3. With the use of a fluorescence microscope, several morphological features characteristic of apoptosis such as condensed chromatin and apoptotic bodies were indemnified in Jurkat T cells after exposure to N.C.1213 and melphalan. The results indicated that melphalan was more cytotoxic than N.C.1213 as shown by the dye exclusion test. However, N.C.1213 showed a greater apoptotic index than melphalan. The IC50 of N.C.1213 in Jurkat T cells was determined to be 3.5 μM
4. A DNA ladder (fragmentation of DNA into multimers of approximately 200 base pairs), which is one characteristic feature of apoptosis, was not detected when Jurkat T cells were exposed to N.C.1213. Hence it is probable that the key morphological events in apoptosis observed in the present experimental conditions precede the internucleosomalcleavage of DNA.
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Vashishtha, S.C., Nazarali, A.J. & Dimmock, J.R. Application of Fluorescence Microscopy to Measure Apoptosis in Jurkat T Cells After Treatment with a New Investigational Anticancer Agent (N.C.1213). Cell Mol Neurobiol 18, 437–445 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022505700642
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022505700642