Quantitative Analysis of In Vivo Cell Proliferation

AbstractTwo similar techniques, [3H]thymidine autoradiography and 5‐bromo‐2'‐deoxyuridine (BrdU) immunohistochemistry, have been developed to label dividing cells and identify them following survival times of up to several years, so that different aspects of their fate can be examined. Both techniques use markers that are incorporated into the DNA of proliferating cells as it is synthesized during the S phase of mitosis. The techniques differ in the markers used and the detection systems used to recognize them. In the first method described in this unit, tritiated thymidine is injected into animals and is incorporated into dividing cells. These cells can then be identified using emulsion autoradiography. In the second method presented, BrdU, a halogenated thymidine analog, is similarly injected and incorporated into cells in S phase, and then detected immunohistologically with an antibody specific for DNA containing BrdU.