siRNA / miRNA gene silencing Human Melanoma cells (501 Mel and SK Mel 28)

Get tips on using mirVana™ miRNA Isolation Kit, with phenol to perform RNA isolation / purification Cells - primary human mononuclear cells

Get tips on using TRIzol Reagent to perform RNA isolation / purification Cells - immortalized SK-BR-3

Get tips on using TRIzol Reagent to perform RNA isolation / purification Cells - immortalized SK-N-SH

An alternative to culture-based cell death detection is an assessment of other cell viability indicators using fluorescent dyes, including membrane potential and membrane integrity. Live/Dead assays differentiates live and dead cells using membrane integrity as a proxy for cell viability and are based on a fluorescent staining procedure followed by detection using flow cytometry. However, samples preparation for such flow cytometry-based techniques could be challenging. Cell harvesting by trypsinization, mechanical or enzymatic cell disaggregation from tissues, extensive centrifugation steps, may all lead to preferential loss of apoptotic cells. To overcome this strictly follow manufacturers instruction of the detection kit.

An alternative to culture-based cell death detection is an assessment of other cell viability indicators using fluorescent dyes, including membrane potential and membrane integrity. Live/Dead assays differentiates live and dead cells using membrane integrity as a proxy for cell viability and are based on a fluorescent staining procedure followed by detection using flow cytometry. However, samples preparation for such flow cytometry-based techniques could be challenging. Cell harvesting by trypsinization, mechanical or enzymatic cell disaggregation from tissues, extensive centrifugation steps, may all lead to preferential loss of apoptotic cells. To overcome this strictly follow manufacturers instruction of the detection kit.

Microarrays enable researchers to monitor the expression of thousands of genes simultaneously. However, the sensitivity, accuracy, specificity, and reproducibility are major challenges for this technology. Cross-hybridization, combination with splice variants, is a prime source for the discrepancies in differential gene expression calls among various microarray platforms. Removing (either from production or downstream bioinformatic analysis) and/or redesigning the microarray probes prone to cross-hybridization is a reasonable strategy to increase the hybridization specificity and hence, the accuracy of the microarray measurements.

Get tips on using mirVana™ miRNA Isolation Kit, with phenol to perform RNA isolation / purification Cells - primary human airway epithelial cells

Get tips on using mirVana™ miRNA Isolation Kit, with phenol to perform RNA isolation / purification Cells - primary human aortic endothelial cells

As autophagy is a multi-step process which includes not just the formation of autophagosomes, but most importantly, flux through the entire system, including the degradation upon fusion with lysosomes, which makes it quite challenging for detection. There are several methods for detection in mammalian cells, including immunoblotting analysis of LC3 and p62 and detection of autophagosome formation/maturation by fluorescence microscopy, Currently, there is no single “gold standard” for determining the autophagic activity that is applicable in every experimental context, hence it is recommended to go for the combined use of multiple methods to accurately assess the autophagic activity in any given biological setting.

Wound healing assay can be challenging due to inconsistencies and variations while making a wound on the confluent cell monolayer, consequently leads to wounds of varying sizes and widths. Moreover, this assay causes damage to the cells that are at the edge of the wound, which can prevent cell migration into the wound site and healing. The best solution is to use the standard wound healing assay kits using either combs or inserts to make a defined wound field or gap and prevent the well-to-well variation in these assays.