Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 14, 2026

In Vivo Assessment of Alveolar Macrophage Efferocytosis Following Ozone Exposure
08:54

In Vivo Assessment of Alveolar Macrophage Efferocytosis Following Ozone Exposure

Published on: October 22, 2019

[Damaging effect of digitonin on macrophage plasma membranes exposed to UV-irradiation]

S K Pirutin, V B Turovetskiĭ, A B Druzhko

    Radiatsionnaia Biologiia, Radioecologiia
    |June 19, 2007
    PubMed

    Insights

    Ultraviolet (UV) irradiation and digitonin treatment of macrophages showed synergistic cell damage. This combined effect, particularly after a 15-minute incubation, significantly exceeded the sum of individual damages.

    Area of Science:

    • Cell biology
    • Photobiology
    • Biochemistry

    Context:

    • Macrophages are crucial immune cells susceptible to various stressors.
    • Understanding cellular responses to combined UV irradiation and chemical agents is vital for immunology and toxicology.
    • Investigating the effects of specific UV-A wavelengths (306 nm) and digitonin on macrophage integrity.

    Purpose:

    • To investigate the combined effects of UV irradiation and digitonin on macrophage cell damage.
    • To determine the temporal dynamics of synergistic cell damage following combined exposure.
    • To quantify the extent of cell damage induced by individual and combined treatments.

    Summary:

    • UV irradiation (4.6 J/cm2) or digitonin (3 mkg/ml) alone caused minimal macrophage damage.
    • Combined UV and digitonin treatment, with digitonin added post-irradiation, resulted in significant cell damage.
    • A 15-minute incubation period post-irradiation led to cell damage twice the additive effect of individual treatments.
    • Synergistic damage was observed after 15 minutes, but not at 30 minutes post-irradiation, with further increases in post-irradiation time leading to renewed synergistic effects.

    Impact:

    • Reveals a time-dependent synergistic toxicity of UV irradiation and digitonin on macrophages.
    • Provides insights into the complex interplay between physical and chemical stressors on immune cells.
    • Highlights the importance of considering incubation time when assessing combined cellular damage in biological research and therapeutic contexts.

    More Related Videos

    Inactivation of Pathogens via Visible-Light Photolysis of Riboflavin-5′-Phosphate08:25

    Inactivation of Pathogens via Visible-Light Photolysis of Riboflavin-5′-Phosphate

    Published on: April 6, 2022

    Related Concept Videos

    Mutations01:35

    Mutations

    Mutations are changes in the sequence of DNA. These changes can occur spontaneously or they can be induced by exposure to environmental factors. Mutations can be characterized in a number of different ways: whether and how they alter the amino acid sequence of the protein, whether they occur over a small or large area of DNA, and whether they occur in somatic cells or germline cells.
    Chromosomal Alterations Are Large-Scale Mutations
    While point mutations are changes in a single nucleotide in...
    Nucleotide Excision Repair01:38

    Nucleotide Excision Repair

    DNA Distortion and Damage
    Cells are regularly exposed to mutagens—factors in the environment that can damage DNA and generate mutations. UV radiation is one of the most common mutagens and is estimated to introduce a significant number of changes in DNA. These include bends or kinks in the structure, which can block DNA replication or transcription. If these errors are not fixed, the damage can cause mutations, which in turn can result in cancer or disease depending on which sequences are...