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Updated: Aug 16, 2026

Cell Cycle-specific Measurement of γH2AX and Apoptosis After Genotoxic Stress by Flow Cytometry
08:21

Cell Cycle-specific Measurement of γH2AX and Apoptosis After Genotoxic Stress by Flow Cytometry

Published on: September 1, 2019

Cytometric assessment of DNA damage in relation to cell cycle phase and apoptosis

Xuan Huang1, H Dorota Halicka, Frank Traganos

  • 1Brander Cancer Research Institute, New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY 10532, USA.

Cell Proliferation
|August 16, 2005
PubMed

Insights

This review covers methods to detect DNA damage and apoptosis in cells. Key techniques include labeling DNA strand breaks and detecting phosphorylated histone H2AX (gammaH2AX) and ATM-kinase, aiding in predicting cancer treatment response.

Area of Science:

  • Molecular Biology
  • Cell Biology
  • Biochemistry

Background:

  • Detecting DNA damage is crucial for understanding cell death and genotoxicity.
  • Apoptosis involves DNA fragmentation, while genotoxic agents induce DNA strand breaks.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review methods for detecting DNA damage, its extent, and its relation to the cell cycle and apoptosis.
  • To highlight assays for DNA fragmentation and DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs).

Main Methods:

  • Selective DNA extraction to detect fragmentation during apoptosis.
  • Labeling DNA strand breaks with fluorochrome-tagged deoxynucleotides.
  • Immunocytochemical detection of gammaH2AX and phosphorylated ATM-Ser1981 for DSBs.

Main Results:

  • DNA damage detection methods correlate DNA breaks with cell cycle phase and apoptosis.
  • Cell cycle-specific patterns of H2AX and ATM phosphorylation are observed in response to genotoxic agents.
  • gammaH2AX and ATM-Ser1981(P) are sensitive markers for induced DSBs.

Conclusions:

  • Assays for gammaH2AX and ATM-Ser1981(P) aid in correlating DNA damage with cell cycle and apoptosis.
  • DNA damage detection in tumor cells could predict response to radio- or chemotherapy.
  • Understanding DNA damage response is vital for cancer treatment strategies.

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