title: Altered lipid packing identifies apoptotic thymocytes.
abstract: To test whether apoptotic thymocytes can be identified by altered packing of lipids in their plasma membranes, thymocytes were isolated from mice injected with hydrocortisone and stained with merocyanine 540 (MC540), a fluorescent probe sensitive to lipid packing. At 9-10 h after injection, a subpopulation of H2-Klo cells with increased MC540 staining was clearly discernable. When DNA degradation was assessed by staining fixed cells with propidium iodide (PI), the fraction of cells with increased MC540 staining corresponded to the fraction with reduced PI staining. In addition, enriching for the former by fluorescence-activated cell sorting enriched for the latter. These results indicate that living apoptotic thymocytes can be identified and separated on the basis of altered lipid packing and increased staining with MC540.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park 16802.
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Schlegel
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Stevens
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lumley-Sapanski
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Williamson
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis; D016923:Cell Death; D002469:Cell Separation; D004249:DNA Damage / Q000502:physiology; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D006854:Hydrocortisone; D008297:Male; D008563:Membrane Lipids / Q000378:metabolism*; D051379:Mice; D008808:Mice, Inbred CBA; D011419:Propidium; D011744:Pyrimidinones / Q000378:metabolism; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000502:physiology; D013950:Thymus Gland / Q000166:cytology*
chemical_list: D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D008563:Membrane Lipids; D011744:Pyrimidinones; D011419:Propidium; C003954:merocyanine dye; D006854:Hydrocortisone