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.
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.
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.
Cell Invasion or Cell Migration assays are technically challenging to set up as the gradient between the two compartments equilibrates in time during the assay. It is also problematic to view cells and for cells to migrate through a non-physiologic polycarbonate or polypropylene filter. Care must be taken while loading the well with cells to form a single cell suspension. Precaution must be taken while trypsinization (under-trypsinization can lead to cell clumping while over-trypsinization could strip off adhesion molecules necessary for migration). This leads to difficulty in getting significant results, when only small numbers of cells cross the filter or when the distribution and/or staining of the cells is uneven.
Protein isolation is a technique that involves isolation and/ or purification of protein from cells or tissues via chromatography or electrophoresis. The major challenges in protein isolation include: 1. The concentration of proteins in cells is variable and tends to be small for some intracellular proteins. Unlike nucleic acids, proteins cannot be amplified. 2. Proteins are more unstable than nucleic acids. They are easily denatured under suboptimal temperature, pH or salt concentrations. 3. Finally, no generalized technique/protocol can be applied for protein isolation. Proteins may have different electrostatic (number of positively or negatively charged amino acids) or hydrophobic properties. Therefore, protein purification requires multiple steps depending on their charge (a negatively charged resin/column for positively charged proteins and vice-versa), dissolution (using detergents) and unlike in the case of DNA and RNA, instead of using salts, proteins should be isolated by isoelectric precipitation.
When extracting nucleic acids from cell cultures, thorough homogenization of cells via vortexing in lysis buffer is very necessary. Choose the best RNA isolation method keeping in mind the downstream applications, generally, column-based isolations result in clean and concentrated RNA samples. Downstream applications like sequencing and cDNA synthesis require high-quality RNA, always treat the samples with DNases and check their integrity by running a gel.
When extracting nucleic acids from cell cultures, thorough homogenization of cells via vortexing in lysis buffer is very necessary. Choose the best RNA isolation method keeping in mind the downstream applications, generally, column-based isolations result in clean and concentrated RNA samples. Downstream applications like sequencing and cDNA synthesis require high-quality RNA, always treat the samples with DNases and check their integrity by running a gel.
When extracting nucleic acids from cell cultures, thorough homogenization of cells via vortexing in lysis buffer is very necessary. Choose the best RNA isolation method keeping in mind the downstream applications, generally, column-based isolations result in clean and concentrated RNA samples. Downstream applications like sequencing and cDNA synthesis require high-quality RNA, always treat the samples with DNases and check their integrity by running a gel.
When extracting nucleic acids from cell cultures, thorough homogenization of cells via vortexing in lysis buffer is very necessary. Choose the best RNA isolation method keeping in mind the downstream applications, generally, column-based isolations result in clean and concentrated RNA samples. Downstream applications like sequencing and cDNA synthesis require high-quality RNA, always treat the samples with DNases and check their integrity by running a gel.
When extracting nucleic acids from cell cultures, thorough homogenization of cells via vortexing in lysis buffer is very necessary. Choose the best RNA isolation method keeping in mind the downstream applications, generally, column-based isolations result in clean and concentrated RNA samples. Downstream applications like sequencing and cDNA synthesis require high-quality RNA, always treat the samples with DNases and check their integrity by running a gel.
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