DWH24: a new antibody for fluorescence-based cell death analysis

Area of Science:

• Immunology
• Cell Biology

Background:

• Antibodies are crucial in diagnostics and therapeutics.
• Current cell death markers have limitations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and characterize a novel antibody clone, DWH24.
• To evaluate DWH24's utility in visualizing and quantifying cell death.

Main Methods:

• Targeted and cell immunization approaches for antibody development.
• Immunofluorescence, fluorescence microscopy, and flow cytometry for characterization.
• Time-lapse microscopy for live imaging of cell death.
• Human proteome microarray for specificity analysis.

Main Results:

• DWH24 is an IgM kappa (IgMκ) antibody.
• It enables excellent visualization and quantification of dead cells.
• Binding is Ca2+- and protein-independent, allowing live imaging.
• Specificity analysis revealed binding to tropomyosin variants and FAM131C.

Conclusions:

• DWH24 is a valuable tool for cell death analysis.
• It offers a cost-effective and universal approach using fluorescence imaging and flow cytometry.
• The antibody facilitates live imaging of cell death dynamics.