Cell cycle analysis using bromodeoxyuridine: comparison of methods for analysis of total cell transit time

Quantification of the Proliferation Index of Human Dermal Fibroblast Cultures with the ArrayScan™ High-Content Screening Reader

High-throughput cell-based assays are becoming a powerful approach in the drug discovery process. The ArrayScan™ high-content screening (HCS) reader is a cytometer based on a fully automated fluorescence microscope that is able to obtain quantitative information on the intensity and localization of fluorescence signals within single cells over a wide cell population. The aim of this work was to set up an automated HCS multiparameter analysis for the quantification of the in vitro proliferation index of normal human dermal fibroblast (NHDF) cultures. The authors stimulated starved NHDF with insulin-like growth factor-1, platelet-derived growth factor, epidermal growth factor, fibroblast growth factor, or serum, and they quantified the proliferation index by measuring the expression of Ki-67 antigen, the incorporation of bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU), and the phosphorylation of the retinoblastoma protein (pRb). This approach also allowed quantification of the mitotic index by phospho-histone H3 staining and the percentage of cells in the S-phase by BrdU incorporation. The proliferation data from the ArrayScan™ assays were validated by comparison with a reference enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and by flow cytometry. The measured proliferation indices were highly reproducible in repeated measures and independent experiments. The authors therefore propose that the ArrayScan™ HCS system could be used for high-throughput multiparameter analysis and quantification of the proliferation of cellular cultures.

Adult stem cell lineage tracing and deep tissue imaging

Lineage tracing is a widely used method for understanding cellular dynamics in multicellular organisms during processes such as development, adult tissue maintenance, injury repair and tumorigenesis. Advances in tracing or tracking methods, from light microscopy-based live cell tracking to fluorescent label-tracing with two-photon microscopy, together with emerging tissue clearing strategies and intravital imaging approaches have enabled scientists to decipher adult stem and progenitor cell properties in various tissues and in a wide variety of biological processes. Although technical advances have enabled time-controlled genetic labeling and simultaneous live imaging, a number of obstacles still need to be overcome. In this review, we aim to provide an in-depth description of the traditional use of lineage tracing as well as current strategies and upcoming new methods of labeling and imaging.

Differentiation Kinetics of Blood Monocytes and Dendritic Cells in Macaques: Insights to Understanding Human Myeloid Cell Development

Monocyte and dendritic cell (DC) development was evaluated using in vivo BrdU pulse-chase analyses in rhesus macaques, and phenotype analyses of these cells in blood also were assessed by immunostaining and flow cytometry for comparisons among rhesus, cynomolgus, and pigtail macaques, as well as African green monkeys and humans. The nonhuman primate species and humans have three subsets of monocytes, CD14(+)CD16(-), CD14(+)CD16(+), and CD14(-)CD16(+) cells, which correspond to classical, intermediate, and nonclassical monocytes, respectively. In addition, there exist presently two subsets of DC, BDCA-1(+) myeloid DC and CD123(+) plasmacytoid DC, that were first confirmed in rhesus macaque blood. Following BrdU inoculation, labeled cells first appeared in CD14(+)CD16(-) monocytes, then in CD14(+)CD16(+) cells, and finally in CD14(-)CD16(+) cells, thus defining different stages of monocyte maturation. A fraction of the classical CD14(+)CD16(-) monocytes gradually expressed CD16(+) to become CD16(+)CD14(+) cells and subsequently matured into the nonclassical CD14(-)CD16(+) cell subset. The differentiation kinetics of BDCA-1(+) myeloid DC and CD123(+) plasmacytoid DC were distinct from the monocyte subsets, indicating differences in their myeloid cell origins. Results from studies utilizing nonhuman primates provide valuable information about the turnover, kinetics, and maturation of the different subsets of monocytes and DC using approaches that cannot readily be performed in humans and support further analyses to continue examining the unique myeloid cell origins that may be applied to address disease pathogenesis mechanisms and intervention strategies in humans.

Multiparametric Cell Cycle Analysis by Automated Microscopy

Cell cycle analysis using flow cytometry (FC) to measure cellular DNA content is a common procedure in drug mechanism of action studies. Although this technique lends itself readily to cell lines that grow in suspension, adherent cell cultures must be resuspended in a cumbersome and potentially invasive procedure that normally involves trypsinization and mechanical agitation of monolayer cultures. High-content analysis (HCA), an automated microscopy-based technology, is well suited to analysis of monolayer cell cultures but provides intrinsically less accurate determination of cellular DNA content than does FC and thus is not the method of choice for cell cycle analysis. Using Cellomics’s ArrayScan™ reader, the authors have developed a 4-color multiparametric HCA approach for cell cycle analysis of adherent cells based on detection of DNA content (4,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole [DAPI] fluorescence), together with the known cell cycle markers bromo-2-deoxyuridine (BrdU) incorporation, cyclin B1 expression, and histone H3 (Ser28) phosphorylation within a single cell population. Considering all 4 markers together, a reliable and accurate quantification of cell cycle phases was possible, as compared with flow cytometric analysis. Using this assay, specific cell cycle blocks induced by treatment with thymidine, paclitaxel, or nocodazole as test drugs were easily monitored in adherent cultures of U-2 OS osteosarcoma cells.

Auditory epithelial migration. III: An immunohistologic study using anti-BrdU antibody on tympanic membrane in mouse

A localization pattern of epidermal cells on the tympanic membrane (TM) and their migratory patterns were studied in mice, by means of immunohistologic technique using an anti-bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) antibody. The BrdU was instilled intraperitoneally and the animals were painlessly sacrificed between 1 hour and 10 days after the injection. An immunostaining technique using anti-BrdU antibodies was applied on whole mount TM tissues. One hour after injection, BrdU-labeled cells were found in the handle of the malleus (HM) region and in the annular region of the pars tensa of the TM. Some labeled cells were observed in the intermediate region of the upper half of the superior quadrant, but no labeled cells were found in the remaining part of the intermediate region. Labeled cells were also evident in the pars flaccida without any particular pattern of distribution. As time elapsed after the injection, the labeled cells first appearing in the HM region had migrated laterally and inferiorly from the HM toward the annulus, while those in the annular region had considerably decreased in number. Results of the present study are the following: 1) the proliferation center of epidermal cells in the pars tensa is located in two different areas, i.e., the HM region and annular region, 2) newly generated cells in the HM region migrated from the HM region toward the annular region, whereas those in the annular region migrate from the the annular region to the external auditory canal, and 3) no specific generation center is located in the pars flaccida. On the basis of these results, we discuss the relationship between the site of the proliferation center of epidermal cells and their migratory patterns.

Glial, vascular, and neuronal cytogenesis in whole-mounted cat retina

A method was developed for detecting cytogenesis in retinal whole-mount preparations by bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) immunohistochemistry. Because BrdU is a nonspecific marker that labels all cells in the S phase of the cell cycle, it is ideally combined with other cell-specific markers to study the cytogenesis of specific cell types. Double-label protocols to visualize mitotically active astrocytes and cells associated with the forming vasculature have been developed and applied to the retina. This approach revealed that, during normal development of the kitten retina, vascular mitogenesis occurs predominantly in the ganglion cell and nerve fiber layers, where the inner retinal plexus is formed by a process involving transformation of mesenchymal precursor cells and division of vascular endothelial cells. The peak density of vascular mitogenesis moved in a central-to-peripheral manner and was associated with the leading edge of the forming capillary plexus. A small number of dividing vascular endothelial cells was also associated with angiogenesis, the process responsible for the formation of the outer retinal plexus, vessels at the area centralis, and the radial peripapillary capillaries. Cytogenesis associated with astrocytes occurred in the ganglion cell and nerve fiber layers but was apparent predominantly at or close to the optic nerve head. Confirming earlier studies, neuronal mitogenesis was shown to occur predominantly at the ventricular zone, first at the area centralis and spreading peripherally with increasing maturity. A second region of neuronal cytogenesis, at the subventricular zone, was also apparent. Tissue hyperoxia decreased the rate of vasculogenic cell division but had no apparent effect on neurogenic or astrocytic cell division. Four distinct zones of cell generation were therefore identified within the retina, each associated with either glial, vascular, or neuronal cytogenesis. Thus, BrdU immunohistochemistry in whole-mounted retinal preparations offers a fast and reliable alternative to [3H]thymidine autoradiography for the study of the topography of cytogenesis during development.

Modification of the agar overlay assay: assessment of the influence of acrylics used in orthodontics on proliferation and differentiation of primary and transformed fibroblasts

In orthodontics, removable acrylic appliances are preferably produced from methylmetacrylates. However, in the adjacent oral mucosal tissue, cell damage may be caused by the evaporation of residual monomer. The aim of this study was to modify the classic agar overlay assay in order to apply histochemical methods by comparing conventionally used transformed mouse fibroblasts (L-929) with primary human gingival fibroblasts to further elucidate the term toxicity. While proliferation was assessed via the incorporation of the base analogon bromdesoxyuridine, differentiation was investigated by detection of the fibroblast-specific intermediate filament vimentin. After the monomers had taken effect, reduced proliferation extending over the inhibition area was observed by indirect immunofluorescence, independent of cell type. In contrast to this observation, a few cells within the inhibition area which could not be clearly detected by neutral red staining still exhibited mitotic activity. Detection of the differentiation-specific intermediate filament vimentin was comparable with the degree of neutral red fading visible in the classic agar overlay assay. The study showed that the inhibition areas with primary gingival fibroblasts were smaller (approximately 1/3) after monomer action compared with conventionally applied transformed fibroblasts. The results indicate that the modified assay is comparable with the classic method. Evaluation of neutral red staining with respect to toxic material influence can moreover be supplemented by histochemical studies of typical cell properties.

Nonrandom distribution of sister chromatid exchanges in the chromosomes of three mammalian species

The frequency and distribution of mitomycin C (MMC)-induced sister chromatid exchanges (SCEs) were investigated in the fibroblast chromosomes of three mammalian species, Microtus montebelli, Apodemus argenteus and Chimarrogale himalayica, by the fluorescence-plus-Giemsa (FPG) and C-band staining methods, paying special attention to the large C-band area (C-block)-carrying and/or nucleolus organizer region (NOR)-carrying chromosomes. The junctions of heterochromatin and euchromatin (HE-junctions) and NORs were found to be "hot spots" of SCEs in all the species examined: their SCE frequencies were 35.3% and 24.2% in the HE-junction of the X chromosomes of M. montebelli and A. argenteus, and 16.7% and 17.8% in the NORs of the No. 1 chromosomes of M. montebelli and C. himalayica, respectively. In M. montebelli and A. argenteus the SCE frequency was apparently lower in the C-block region than in the euchromatic one, when compared with each other based on equal length, while in C. himalayica no such marked difference in the SCE frequency was found between these two regions of the chromosome. These findings may indicate that occurrence of SCEs is significantly suppressed in the C-block region of M. montebelli and A. argenteus, but not in that of C. himalayica. In addition, the C-blocks of the No. 1 homologue of C. himalayica showed a highly varied individual-to-individual heteromorphism in length. The biological implication of SCEs was discussed in connection with the generation of heteromorphism.

Methods for the analysis of cellular kinetics in PHA-stimulated blood lymphocytes using BrdU incorporation. A comparative study

The cellular cycle (cc) span was measured by using differential sister-chromatid staining (DSCS) and applying the following methods: cellular cycle time (cct) according to the graphic method of Dutrillaux and Fosse (G-cct); the analytical equation (A-cct) proposed in the present paper, and the average generation time (AGT) suggested by Ivett and Tice. The mean values obtained by the three methods were 12.5, 12.7, and 19.5 h, respectively. A-cct is the more precise method, since the equation of the analytical procedure allows the utilization of numerical data, and when the graphical method is used, the values plotted in a graph may vary according to the employed scale. Cct is the choice over AGT because the first evaluates actively dividing cells and only considers those at M2 or M3. It will be useful to study cell proliferation kinetics in genetic pathological conditions and to investigate with accuracy the effect of cytostatic and cytotoxic drugs.

Immunohistochemical study of cell proliferation and differentiation in epidermis of mice after administration of cholera toxin

Cholera toxin causes reversible epidermal hyperplasia. We observed maximal thickness of the epidermis on the fourth day after treatment and a return to pretreatment values by day 7. The increase in thickness occurred in the basal and intermediate layers, with these layers becoming two to three times thicker than those of normal epidermis. The time sequence of epidermal proliferation was studied using bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) labelling. We observed a maximum number of labelled basal cells within the first 24 h. Only a few cells were labelled 7 days after toxin injection. Griffonia simplicifolia-IB4 (GSA-IB4), Ulex europaeus-I (UEA-I) and Griffonia simplicifolia-II (GSA-II) lectins were used for the analysis of epidermal cell differentiation in the tissue sections. To study keratinocyte differentiation, further immunological staining was performed using two anticytokeratin antibodies, PKK2 and PKK3 mouse monoclonal antibodies. From the immunocytochemical results, we conclude that synchronous differentiation of the epidermis occurs after cholera toxin administration.

Proliferative activity in thyroid tumors

To clarify the proliferative activity of papillary thyroid carcinoma, the bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) labeling index (LI) of 61 various thyroid tumors was investigated using an in vitro labeling technique and immunohistochemical staining with anti-BrdU monoclonal antibody. The mean LI (+/- standard deviation) of 31 papillary carcinomas, 12 adenomas, 10 adenomatous goiters, 3 follicular carcinomas, and 2 medullary carcinomas were 1.2% (+/- 1.3%), 0.6% (+/- 0.3%), 0.7% (+/- 0.6%), 1.5% (+/- 2.2%), and 0.7% (+/- 0.6%), respectively. The LI of the papillary carcinomas ranged from 0.1% to 4.6%, and approximately 66% of these showed less than a 1% similarity with almost all benign tumors. However, the LI of the two malignant lymphomas and the one anaplastic carcinoma were more than 13%. When the LI of the papillary carcinomas was compared with their various prognostic factors, there was no correlation with tumor size, nodal status, or morphologic features. However, the patients who were 50 years of age or older tended to have relatively high LI, and the LI of the papillary carcinomas correlated with patient age. According to these results, the biologic characteristics of papillary carcinomas vary with age and high proliferative activity may contribute to the poor prognosis of this tumor in elderly patients.

Sister chromatid exchange and proliferation pattern in lymphocytes from newborns, elderly subjects and in premature aging syndromes

Sister chromatid exchange (SCE) frequency and cell proliferation were examined in lymphocyte cultures from a group of newborns, a group of elderly subjects and from patients with syndromes who exhibit progeriform characteristics (progeria, Cockayne syndrome, Rothmund-Thomson syndrome and Christ-Siemens-Touraine syndrome) by using the bromodeoxyuridine incorporation differential staining technique. We observed a significantly increase in basal SCE frequency and a less intensive cell proliferation in cultures from elderly subjects than from newborns, as shown by the significant increase in percentage of cells in first generation simultaneous with a reduction of cells in more advanced generations. Lymphocyte cultures from each one of the patients studied also showed a decreased cell proliferation in relation to their respective control and to newborn cultures. Each of these syndromes showed higher baseline SCE levels than the control and than the newborn and elderly groups. Only the patient with progeria showed values similar to those for the elderly group. Thus, in addition to showing clinical characteristics similar to those observed during the normal aging process, these progeriform syndromes also show cytogenetic characteristics similar to those of older individuals.

Tracer dose and availability time of thymidine and bromodeoxyuridine: application of bromodeoxyuridine in cell kinetic studies

The present experiments with [14C]-thymidine (TdR) and [3H]-bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) using mouse jejunal crypt cells show that the upper limit of the tracer dose of TdR is about 0.5 microgram g body weight-1 and that of BrdU is about 5.0 micrograms g body weight-1. Applying these doses, the proportions of the endogenous DNA synthesis attributed to the exogenous DNA precursor are 2% and 9% respectively. For [3H]-TdR doses commonly used in cell kinetic studies this proportion is only 0.1-1.0%, a negligible quantity that does not influence the endogenous DNA synthesis. The maximum availability time of tracer doses of TdR as well as BrdU is 40 to 60 min, the majority of the precursors being incorporated after 20 min. The availability time is the same for TdR doses exceeding the tracer dose by a factor of 80, whereas it is prolonged in the case of BrdU doses exceeding the tracer dose by a factor of 50. BrdU is suitable to replace radioactively labelled TdR in short term cell kinetic studies, i.e. determination of the labelling index or of the S phase duration by double labelling. However, more studies are needed to elucidate how far BrdU can replace TdR in long term studies as shown by differences between the fraction of labelled mitoses (FLM) curves of a human renal cell carcinoma measured with BrdU and [3H]-TdR.

Expression of c-myc, c-raf-1, and c-Ki-ras in azaserine-induced pancreatic carcinomas and growing pancreas in rats

We examined the pattern of expression of several proto-oncogenes during nonneoplastic growth and in acinar cell neoplasms in the rat pancreas. The levels of c-myc, c-raf-1, and c-Ki-ras mRNAs were increased in regenerating pancreata following surgical partial pancreatectomy and following administration of camostat. We also investigated proto-oncogene expression associated with the progression of pancreatic cancers in azaserine-treated rats. Injection of a single dose (30 mg/kg) of azaserine (O-diazoacetyl-L-serine) to 14-d-old rats leads to a variety of neoplastic lesions in the rat pancreas. Total RNA was isolated from lesions in various stages of tumor progression, including adenomas, carcinomas in situ, and invasive carcinomas. We observed increased expression of c-myc, c-raf-1, and c-Ki-ras in azaserine-induced adenomas and carcinomas. Actin expression was also increased in these tissues, whereas amylase expression was variable. However, when compared to the normal growing pancreas, the level of proto-oncogene expression in the adenomas and carcinomas was disproportionate to the degree of cellular division in those tissues. Thus, the alterations induced by azaserine apparently caused a deregulated increase in expression of cellular oncogenes associated with growth regulation.

Bromodeoxyuridine immunohistochemical determination of the lengths of the cell cycle and the DNA-synthetic phase for an anatomically defined population

A cumulative labelling protocol using 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (BUdR) was followed to determine: (1) the growth fraction (i.e., the proportion of cells that comprise the proliferating population), (2) the length of the cell cycle, and (3) the length of the DNA-synthetic phase (S-phase) for proliferative cells in the dentate gyrus of the mouse. On postnatal day 20 (P20), C57BL/6J mice were injected with BUdR at two hour intervals for a total period of 12 hours. Animals were sacrificed at selected intervals, and the brains were processed for immunohistochemistry using a monoclonal antibody directed against single-stranded DNA containing BUdR. The numbers of BUdR-labelled and unlabelled cells in sections through the hilus of the dentate gyrus were counted. The number of BUdR-labelled cells increased linearly from an initial value of about 12% of the total number of cells to a maximum value of just over 24% of the total. These findings indicate that, at P20, a maximum of 24.2 +/- 1.2% of the cells in the dentate hilus are part of the proliferating population. The calculated length of the cell cycle of the cells comprising the intrahilar proliferative zone was estimated to be 16.1 +/- 0.8 h. The length of the S-phase was estimated at 8.0 +/- 0.4 h. In addition, mathematical analysis, using one and two population models, indicates that over 90% of the proliferating cells in the dentate hilus at this age comprise a single population at least in terms of the lengths of the cell cycle and the S-phase.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Study of cell kinetics in anaplastic thyroid carcinoma transplanted to nude mice

The cell kinetics of the transplantable human anaplastic thyroid carcinoma were studied in athymic nude mice using bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) pulse labeling. In order to estimate the cell cycle time in this study, the percent labeled mitosis curve was prepared with immunoperoxidase staining using monoclonal antibody to BrdU instead of 3[H]thymidine autoradiography. This technique was considered to be very useful because it can be done for a short term and can still be changed to the autoradiographic method. Comparing the results in this study with already reported data on various xenografts of human carcinomas in nude mice, the tumor doubling time (117.5 hr) and the cell cycle time (23.5 hr) were rather short, but the growth fraction (54%) and the cell loss factor (68%) were nearly equivalent to the median value. These findings suggest that the very rapid growth rate of this tumor was mainly due to the shortness of the cell cycle time.

Use of bromodeoxyuridine-immunohistochemistry to examine the proliferation, migration and time of origin of cells in the central nervous system

The use of an exogenously administered thymidine analog, 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (BrdU), for studies of the proliferation, migration and time of origin of cells in the cerebral cortex was investigated and compared with [3H]thymidine [( 3H]dT) autoradiography. Pregnant rats or mice were injected with BrdU and/or [3H]dT and processed by standard immunohistochemical techniques using a primary antibody directed against BrdU in single-stranded DNA, autoradiographic methods, or both. In animals that survived only 1 h after the injection, BrdU-positive cells were distributed in the proliferative zones throughout the central nervous system (CNS). In animals killed 1-3 days after the BrdU injection, intensely immunoreactive cells were in the superficial cortical plate and less intensely labeled cells were scattered throughout the deep cortical plate, the intermediate zone, and the germinal zones. In adult animals, 60 days or more after an injection of BrdU on GD 19, BrdU-positive cells were located in layer II/III of neocortex, the hippocampal pyramidal layer, and the granule layer of the dentate gyrus. In the double-labeling studies, the distribution of BrdU-immunoreactive cells was identical to that of autoradiographically labeled cells, and all autoradiographically labeled neurons were BrdU positive. Thus, BrdU immunohistochemistry is suitable for developmental studies of the CNS; moreover, it provides several advantages over [3H]dT autoradiography.

Analysis of the length of S-phase required to show sister chromatid differential staining

In vitro studies of BrdU-dependent sister chromatid differential staining typically employ two cycles of BrdU incorporation. Experiments are described which determined the actual fraction of both S-phases that the rat embryonic fibroblasts (Rat-1) cells had to traverse in order to show distinctive differential staining. Following synchronization of cells by a combination of serum deprivation and hydroxyurea blockage, sister chromatid differential staining, labelling index, mitotic index, and per cent DNA replication are determined. Results indicate that only approximately 50% of the first S-phase is necessary in order to show distinctive differential staining. The importance of this finding to studies of cellular proliferation using BrdU incorporation is discussed.

Generation time (GT) of human bone marrow cells cultured in the CFC-gm assay

Generation time (GT) of normal human bone marrow cells cultured in the CFC-gm assay was measured by using bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) incorporation and sister chromatid differential staining. Cells were cultured in methylcellulose for 72 hr prior to the addition of BrdU and then harvested at 6-12 hr intervals for up to 72 hr. The time interval between the appearance of second and third division metaphases at the 50% level gave mean GTs which ranged from 32 to 43 hr. These values are longer than those reported for myeloblasts and promyelocytes but shorter than those previously reported for myelocytes.

Proliferative characteristics of progeny derived from normal human hemopoietic progenitor cells

Cell cycle times of cells derived from human hemopoietic progenitor cells were measured directly by using 5-bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) incorporation and sister chromatid differential staining. Umbilical cord cells were cultured in the mixed-colony assay for 96 h prior to the addition of BrdU and then harvested at 6-12 h intervals. Individual cell cycle times ranging from 8.5-23.4 h were observed while population mean cell cycle times ranged from 17.5-24 h. These results show that some early progeny of hemopoietic progenitor cells have short cell cycle times and that there is considerable heterogeneity within the proliferating cell population.