title: Quantitative analysis of intracellular calcium and mitochondrial kinetic fluorescence changes in GSNO-induced thymocyte early apoptosis.
abstract: A fluorescence microscopy imaging technique was applied to observe the single-cell kinetic changes of intracellular Ca(2+) concentration ([Ca(2+)](i)) and mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨ(m)) during the early stage of S-nitrosoglutathione (GSNO)-induced thymocytes apoptosis. The kinetic features of [Ca(2+)](i) and ΔΨ(m) were quantitatively analyzed and compared by fitting the fluorescence intensity data. The mathematical parameter, inflection point which indicated the time point when [Ca(2+)](i) or ΔΨ(m) changed the most rapidly, was proposed to analyze the fitting curve. The results revealed that the inflection point of [Ca(2+)](i) always appeared prior to that of ΔΨ(m) during apoptosis induced by a certain GSNO concentration. Both the [Ca(2+)](i) and ΔΨ(m) changed in a GSNO concentration-dependent manner. Another parameter, half-max effect point was also employed and displayed the similar results. Such quantitative analyses of real-time observations at the single-cell level are useful for interpreting the sequence of the biological events operating in GSNO-induced thymocyte apoptosis.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory for Atomic and Molecular Nanosciences of Education Ministry, Department of Physics, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.
authors.forename: Xiaochen
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Danying
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Wanyun
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Ma
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects*; D002118:Calcium / Q000032:analysis*; D005453:Fluorescence; D006801:Humans; D007700:Kinetics; D053078:Membrane Potential, Mitochondrial / Q000187:drug effects; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence / Q000379:methods*; D008928:Mitochondria; D057054:Molecular Imaging; D026422:S-Nitrosoglutathione / Q000494:pharmacology*; D013961:Thyroid Gland / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D026422:S-Nitrosoglutathione; D002118:Calcium