Tunel Staining
Tunel Staining - Related Videos
08:12
The TUNEL Assay
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2023
One of the hallmarks of apoptosis is the nuclear DNA fragmentation by nucleases. These enzymes are activated by caspases, the family of proteins that execute the cell death program. TUNEL assay is a method that takes advantage of this feature to detect apoptotic cells. In this assay, an enzyme called terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase catalyzes the addition of dUTP nucleotides to the free 3’ ends of fragmented DNA. By using dUTPs that are labeled with chemical tags that can produce...
01:30
TUNEL Assay for Detecting Apoptotic Cell Death in a Brain Slice
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2025
To detect apoptotic cell death using the TUNEL assay, treat the brain slice with the enzyme proteinase-K.
05:32
Terminal Transferase-Mediated dUTP Nick End-Labeling—TUNEL Assay: An In Situ Method to Detect DNA Fragmentation in Apoptotic Cells
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2025
In this video, the TUNEL assay is performed to detect the presence of apoptotic cells in a sample. The study involves using a special DNA polymerase - terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase - that catalyzes the addition of labeled dUTPs to the 3' terminus of fragmented DNA, which can be observed and identified under a fluorescence microscope.
11:33
Microscopy and Staining: Gram, Capsule, and Endospore Staining
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2023
Source: Rhiannon M. LeVeque1, Natalia Martin1, Andrew J. Van Alst1, and Victor J. DiRita1 1 Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, United States of America Bacteria are diverse microorganisms found nearly everywhere on Earth. Many properties help distinguish them from each other, including but not limited to Gram-staining type, shape and arrangement, production of capsule, and formation of spores. To observe these properties, one...
03:12
May-Grunwald Giemsa Staining: A Method to Stain Bone Marrow Cells
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2023
This video describes the technique of staining bone marrow cells using May- Grünwald Giemsa Staining. In the protocol, we will stain the murine myeloid leukemia cells, C149 cells, to analyze the morphology and differential counting.
FAQs
Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase, or TdT, adds labeled nucleotides to exposed 3′-hydroxyl ends of broken DNA strands. This reaction creates a detectable label at sites of DNA fragmentation within individual cells. The resulting signal allows investigators to associate fragmented DNA with particular cells and tissue locations, rather than measuring a bulk sample.
Both detection formats reveal where labeled nucleotides have been incorporated into fragmented DNA, but they produce signals through different readouts. Fluorescence supports visualization of labeled cells, whereas enzymatic detection provides an alternative histological signal. Selecting between them can depend on the imaging and tissue-analysis approach used in a particular experiment.
Neuronal markers help identify which labeled cells belong to neuronal populations within a tissue or culture. When paired with TUNEL staining, this combination connects DNA fragmentation with neuronal identity rather than showing cell death signals without cellular context. Investigators can therefore map neuronal injury or apoptosis more specifically across affected regions.
A typical workflow begins with a tissue section or cultured sample containing the cells of interest. TdT is then used to add labeled nucleotides to exposed 3′-hydroxyl DNA ends. The incorporated label is subsequently visualized through fluorescence or enzymatic detection, producing a spatial pattern that can be examined at the level of individual cells.
In neuroscience, researchers apply TUNEL staining to study cell death associated with development, ischemia, trauma, and neurodegenerative disease. The method can be used in tissues or cultured samples, allowing investigators to examine where neuronal injury or apoptosis occurs. These settings make it useful for comparing patterns of damage across different disease or experimental conditions.
TUNEL staining provides spatial information about cells containing fragmented DNA, helping researchers examine the distribution of cell death within a sample. In disease studies, those patterns can support investigations of injury mechanisms. When treatment effects are evaluated, changes in the observed staining pattern can contribute to assessing how an intervention relates to cellular damage or survival.