Cellular signals to resist apoptosis have been attributed as one of the mechanisms of tumorigenesis. Hence, apoptosis is a cardinal target for drug development in cancers, and several antitumor drugs have been designed to induce apoptosis in tumor cells. Recently, venetoclax, a Bcl2 inhibitor that induces apoptosis, has been approved by the FDA for the treatment of CLL and SLL patients. Proapoptotic antitumor drugs have been traditionally developed and tested, targeting apoptosis in tumor cells. The mechanism of such drug actions has been functionally connected to the mechanism of apoptosis. The identification of apoptosis in a tumor cell takes into account different characteristics in several steps of apoptosis. Thus, it is understandable that modes of identification of apoptosis observed in tumor cells in a laboratory have also been tuned to different characteristics in several parameters of apoptosis. Here, we present a detailed methodology for a triple-parameter-based co-fluorescence imaging to identify apoptosis in live tumor cells. The procedure involves co-fluorescence staining specific for three cardinal features of apoptosis in live cells. The procedure is simple, time-sensitive, and can be performed successfully in a laboratory-friendly manner.
Keywords: Apoptosis; Fluorescence imaging; Laboratory-Friendly; Live cells; Triple-parameter.