A rapid measurement of apoptosis-associated light scatter changes using a hematology analyzer.

The alternative application of an automated hematology analyzer, H*3 system, has been described for the detection of apoptosis. Apoptosis induction by the topoisomerase I inhibitor, camptothecin (CAM) on several cell lines is followed by typical morphological alterations. On the H*3 cytogram, measurement of CAM-treated cells revealed an increased population of cells with reduced size suggesting cell contraction during apoptosis. The decreased LUC/Lymph ratio also indicated the enhanced degree of apoptosis directly correlated with increasing CAM concentration and/or incubation period. Quantitative analysis shows a good correlation between the H*3 measurement and flow cytometry measurements of Annexin V-fluorescein isothiocyanate-labeled method. Thus, the H*3 measurement, under an appropriate adjustment, can be used as a rapid monitor for evaluating the degree of apoptotic changes in drug susceptibility testing of homogeneous cell samples.