Detection of Apoptosis in HIV-Infected Ceil Populations using TUNEL

Cells within an organism undergo two common forms of cell death. Sudden injury resulting from physical or chemical insult leads to a form of cell death called necrosis. A more subtle programmed form of cell death is termed apoptosis. Apoptosis describes a genetically encoded pathway that plays an important role in regulating the immune response (1,2). Apoptotic cell death is characterized by distinct biochemical and morphologic changes and the fragmentation of DNA into nucleosomal-sized multimers (3). Apoptosis plays a crucial role in viral infections and in the host response to viral insult (4).