Cytotoxicity

Cell cytotoxicity, one of the most important concepts in the life sciences. It might sound a bit complex, but this post will help you understand its meaning, research purposes, experimental methods, and much more.

What exactly is cytotoxicity?

Cytotoxicity refers to the potential or degree to which a cytotoxin (a substance that damages or kills cells) can cause damage to cells. In other words, it measures how toxic a substance, such as a drug or immune cell, is to living cells.

Cytotoxicity is typically measured in two contexts:

• The effect of external substances (e.g., drug candidates, chemicals) on cell survival

• The killing ability of immune cells like T lymphocytes or NK cells

When are cytotoxicity assays used?

Understanding how cells, the basic building blocks of the human body, react and change in response to cytotoxins is crucial for identifying disease causes and developing new treatments.

Cytotoxicity assays are essential in a variety of research fields, including:

• Toxicology - Testing the toxicity of new drugs or chemical substances

  
  

  It is vital for evaluating the effects of new drugs and their safety for use, or for determining the safety of chemical substance use. This assessment becomes useful when determining the optimal dosage and establishing a safe concentration range.

  
  

• Cancer research - Identifying how effective anti-cancer drugs are at killing tumor cells

  
  

  To develop anti-cancer drugs that selectively kill tumor cells, it is crucial to analyze how specific substances exhibit toxicity to target cells while examining the effects they have on normal cells.

• Immunotherapy - Evaluating the efficiency of immune cells at killing unwanted cells

  
  

  A cytotoxic immunotherapy approach creates a tumor vaccine directly at the tumor site. Immunogenic tumor cell death provides antigens that help activate the body's adaptive immune system and also trigger an innate immune response [1].

Types of cytotoxicity assay

Assay Type	Principle	Features
MTT assay	A colorimetric assay measuring cell viability	Simple, cost-effective but sample loss may occur
LDH assay	Detects LDH enzyme released from damaged or dead cells	Non-destructive, but may have lower sensitivity
Live/Dead staining	Uses fluorescent dyes to distinguish live and dead cells	Imaging and quantification of live and dead cells
Real-time cell imaging	Allows for real-time observation and analysis of how cells react to certain substances	Real-time monitoring of cells

Reference:

1. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21465529/

   
   

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