General Description
This kit provides a way to isolate apoptotic DNA fragments for DNA ladder analysis. The purification method used is much faster than other DNA purification methods (
e.g., phenol/chloroform extraction, DNA precipitation). Purified DNA can be mixed directly with gel loading buffer and analyzed on an agarose gel.
The study of cell death involves characterizing mortality as apoptotic or necrotic. Apoptosis can be characterized by:
- Prelytic, non-random fragmentation of DNA (“ladder” pattern after agarose-gel electrophoresis)1
- Formation of membrane-bound vesicles (or “apoptotic bodies”)
- Cell shrinkage due to a concentration of cytoplasm
Similarly, necrosis (or physiological cell death) is characterized by
- Random digestion of DNA (DNA smear after agarose-gel electrophoresis)
- Swollen organelles and cells, resulting from loss of membrane integrity and cell lysis
- Postlytic DNA fragmentation
As these differences indicate, the classification of cell death can be accomplished through observing cell morphology, or less subjectively, by analyzing genomic DNA. Resolving the DNA on a gel provides a quick and documentable form of data to differentiate between apoptosis and necrosis.
