One hallmark of apoptosis is the degradation of chromosomal DNA. We cloned the Caenorhabditis elegans gene nuc-1, which is involved in the degradation of the DNA of apoptotic cells, and found that nuc-1 encodes a homolog of mammalian DNase II. We used the TUNEL technique to assay DNA degradation in nuc-1 and other mutants defective in programmed cell death and discovered that TUNEL labels apopt...

OBJECTIVE To compare the sperm chromatin dispersion (SCD) test and the terminal uridine nick-end labeling (TUNEL) assay for assessment of sperm DNA damage. DESIGN Prospective comparative experimental study. SETTING Andrology laboratory. PATIENT(S) Twenty subfertile men with unexplained infertility. INTERVENTION(S) Sperm DNA damage was determined in the same semen samples using the TUNEL...

Seizure causes neuronal cell loss in both animal models and human epilepsy. To determine the contribution of apoptotic mechanisms to seizure-induced neuronal cell death, rat brains were examined for the occurrence of terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated UTP nick end labeling (TUNEL)-positive nuclei after pilocarpine-induced seizure. Numerous TUNEL-positive cells were observed througho...

The terminal deoxynucleotide transferase (TdT)-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) method for monitoring targeted cell ablation is based on the in situ labeling of DNA fragmentation sites in nuclei of intact fixed cells. Unlike other methods of detecting dying cells, the use of fixed material allows antigen expression to be monitored at the same time that apoptosis is confirmed in the targe...

OBJECTIVES To establish the validity of the TUNEL assay in determining sperm DNA fragmentation, the relationship between the degree of fragmentation and the seminal parameters and the sample needed to conduct the test. MATERIAL AND METHODS We used semen samples from healthy fertile men (n=33), patients who consulted for infertility with a prescription for the TUNEL assay (n=77) and patients w...

BACKGROUND/AIM It is known that trypan blue staining is not a good predictor of loss of corneal endothelial cells (ECs) during organ culture. As it is primarily an indicator of membrane integrity, it would also not be expected to identify ECs undergoing apoptosis. The aim of this study was to determine the ability of the in situ TdT dUTP mediated nick end labelling (TUNEL) technique to detect c...