Magic Red and Cancer Research

Measure Apoptosis in Real Time in Cancer Cells

Magic Red™ (MR) Kits measure apoptosis via active caspases and cathepsins in whole living, intact cells - no lysis required. As apoptosis progresses and caspase activity increases, the red fluorescent signal increases.

In this example, Magic Red is used to measure apoptosis in HeLa Cells after treatment with Artesunate (ART), an anti-malarial drug and potential chemotherapy agent.

Figure: ART activates lysosomal function. A, HeLa cells were first treated with ART (50 μM) for 12 h, followed by LTR labeling for 30 min, and further analyzed using confocal microscopy. B, HeLa cells were loaded with LTR following time course drug treatment, and fluorescence intensity of 10,000 cells/sample was measured by flow cytometry. C, HeLa cells were treated as indicated in A and then incubated with Magic Red cathepsin L and LTG for 30 min and observed under a confocal microscope. D, HepG2 cells were treated as in A and then labeled with LTR described earlier in A. E, HepG2 cells were treated as in A, followed by a Magic Red cathepsin B and L assay for 45 min. Fluorescence intensity of 10,000 cells/sample was measured using flow cytometry. F, HeLa cells were first loaded with DQ Red BSA for 1 h and then treated with ART (50 μM) for 18 h and incubated with LTG for 30 min. G, HeLa cells were treated with ART for 18 h and then immunostained for LAMP1. H, LAMP1 signals of 80 cells from three independent experiments were quantified by ImageJ (Student's t test, #, no significance). I, HeLa cells were treated with ART for the indicated time, and then Western blot was performed to detect the LAMP1 protein level. Scale bar, 10 μm. Error bars, S.D. doi: 10.1074/jbc.M114.564567

We have a variety of Apoptosis Kits for testing potential Chemotherapeutic Agents.