One of the mostly used applications for live cell imaging is cell proliferation. To define cell proliferation, it is the process of which cell population increases and defined by the balance between cell divisions and loss [1]. One thing to note is that proliferation includes both cell growth and division processes.
What to expect using cell proliferation?
The proliferation of cell is a fundamental tool in studies especially in oncology and drug toxicity. Thus, finding abnormal activities in cell proliferation is the key to finding efficient cancer treatment and to studying oncology. By understanding the rapidness of cell growth and division, the characteristics of cancer cell such as aggressiveness can be defined in addition to cancer development and progression [2].
Cell proliferation in daily life
In addition to studying oncology and drug toxicity, following fields also use cell proliferation assay for analysis:
- Wound healing
- Cosmetic testing
- Dermatology research (skin renewal, hair/scalp related disorder, etc.)
- Agriculture
How does cell proliferation work?
There are different methods to observe cell proliferation including fluorescence cell staining and BrdU labeling. In live cell analysis, fluorescent dye proliferation assay is used to measure cell proliferation. By staining sample with fluorescent dye, growth and division of cell will be identified through time-lapse function.
This is a video of U-2 OS growth dyed with fluorescent staining (GFP and RFP) observed by timelapse using JuLI Stage.
Over a period of time, you can clearly see how cells grow. By calculating the confluence (the percentage of area covered by adherent cells), further analysis could be done in many fields mentioned above.
References:
Objective lens | 4x, 10x, 20x |
Channel type | Brightfield, GFP, RFP, DAPI |
Vessel type | Well plate, flask, dish, slide |
Incubator installation | Available |
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