AIM Lupus nephritis is closely associated with in vivo autoantibody-binding to glomerular membrane-associated electron-dense structures (EDS). The biochemical nature and cellular origin of EDS are controversial, and definitive characterisation needs to be performed. METHODS By using the terminal transferase biotin-dUTP nick end-labelling (TUNEL) assay at the electron microscopic level, we hav...

The purpose of the study was to examine the occurrence of programmed cell death (apoptosis) in normal and chromosomally aneuploid testis and ovaries during the second trimester of human development. Such information may be useful in understanding normal and abnormal germ cell development and disorders associated with infertility in adult life. Apoptosis was studied by terminal deoxynucleotidyl ...

Apoptosis is an important mode of cell death under both physiological and pathophysiological conditions. Numerous techniques are available for the study and quantitation of apoptosis in cell culture, but only few are useful when applied to complex tissues. Among these, the terminal transferase-mediated dUTP nick end-labeling (TUNEL) assay remains the most widely used technique. However, its spe...

The ability to detect nuclear damage is an important tool for the development of sperm preservation methods. We used the acridine orange test (AOT) and the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUDP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) assay to assess the DNA status of sperm cells preserved with different lyophilization media. The AOT did not detect any differences between different lyophilizatio...

Situ Nick End-Labeling (TUNEL) in Hearts With Dilated Cardiomyopathy To the Editor: Recently, Kanoh et al1 seriously questioned the reliability of the DNA in situ nick end-labeling (TUNEL) assay as a method of detecting cardiomyocyte apoptosis (CA) in dilated cardiomyopathy. Our experience with both failing2 and infarcted3 human hearts is remarkably different. We agree that TUNEL positivity is ...

Hyperoxia-induced neutrophil infux in neonatal rats may contribute to impaired lung development through oxidative DNA damage. To determine whether blocking neutrophil influx prevents DNA damage, we treated newborn rats with 95% O2 beginning at birth, and at 3 and 4 d with nonimmune immunoglobulin G (IgG) (control) or anti-cytokine-induced neutrophil chemoattractant (CINC). At 8 d, lungs were in...