Abstract
Degradation of apoptotic cells is finalized during the phagocytic waste-management phase of apoptosis. This eliminates genetic material present in dying cells which often contain pathological, viral, or cancerous DNA. In the waste-management phase, chromatin of apoptotic cells is engulfed and digested by professional phagocytes or surrounding tissue cells. This process is critical for the efficient completion of apoptosis and its detection is necessary in research on cancer and autoimmune diseases where clearance of dying cells plays the central role. Here we present a rapid and simple fluorescence technique for visualization of phagocytic cells participating in waste management. The detailed step-by-step protocol is provided. The approach works in fixed tissue sections and labels all types of active phagocytic cells which engulf and digest apoptotic chromatin.
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Acknowledgements
This research was supported by grant R01 NS062842 from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, and by grants R21 NS064403 from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, through ARRA, and R21 EB006301 National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, National Institutes of Health.
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Didenko, V.V. (2014). Selective Detection of Phagocytic Phase of Apoptosis in Fixed Tissue Sections. In: Stockert, J., Espada, J., Blázquez-Castro, A. (eds) Functional Analysis of DNA and Chromatin. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 1094. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-62703-706-8_13
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-62703-706-8_13
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Publisher Name: Humana Press, Totowa, NJ
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