| Control of cell cycle progression is a tightly regulated process complicated
by the number of signaling pathways contributing to its regulation. By
studying the effects of small molecules on individual cells, cell cycle
inhibitors can be identified.During this process, additional biological side
affects can be induced, such as cytotoxicity, decrease in proliferation rate,
and induction of apoptosis. In order to identify compound side affects and
improve screening efficiency for identification of true cell cycle inhibitors,
we have adopted a multiplex approach for secondary screening
applications using a novel microcapillary cytometry platform for 96-well
microplate analysis. Using a series of assays, we were able to run a
traditional propidium iodide based DNA content analysis on a set of test
compounds to determine cell cycle arrest. Our results were further refined
using the same platform to evaluate cell viability, cell concentration, early
apoptosis, late apoptosis and mitotic index for the same compound set.
This multiplex profiling approach allowed us to gain a more complete
understanding of how our compounds were affecting cell cycle
progression, and also determine associated side affects. |
