Quntative Expression of Cell Death by LDH Activity

We hypothesize that a universal quantitative relation exists between the number of necrotic cells in culture and LDH activity in culture media. Previously this relation was found in immortalised cell lines. We hypothesized that similar correlation exists in normal cells of human origin. We investigated cultured human oseoblast-like cells. LDH activity in the media of cultured samples (n=8) was determined by 340 nm wavelength spectrophotometry. Cell viability was determined using automated cell counter. Significant and high correlation was found between LDH activity in culture media and the numbers of non-viable cells (n=8, CC – 0.95, power – 0.984, SE= 13,920, p< 0.001). These findings support the use of media LDH activity measurements for estimation of cell death rate in culture without the need of a major manipulation of the cultured cells.