Quantification of telomere length by FISH and laser scanning cytometry

John E. Mahoney; Ergun Sahin; Mariela Jaskelioff; Lynda Chin; Ronald A. DePinho; Alexei I. Protopopov

doi:10.1117/12.763858

29 February 2008 Quantification of telomere length by FISH and laser scanning cytometry

John E. Mahoney, Ergun Sahin, Mariela Jaskelioff, Lynda Chin, Ronald A. DePinho, Alexei I. Protopopov

Proceedings Volume 6859, Imaging, Manipulation, and Analysis of Biomolecules, Cells, and Tissues VI; 68591V (2008) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.763858
Event: SPIE BiOS, 2008, San Jose, California, United States

Abstract

Telomeres play a critical role in the maintenance of chromosomal stability. Telomere erosion, coupled with loss of DNA damage checkpoint function, results in genomic instability that promotes the development of cancer. The critical role of telomere dynamics in cancer has motivated the development of technologies designed to monitor telomere reserves in a highly quantitative and high-throughput manner in humans and model organisms. To this end, we have adapted and modified two established technologies, telomere-FISH and laser scanning cytometry. Specifically, we have produced a number of enhancements to the iCys LSC (CompuCyte) package including software updates, use of 60X dry objectives, and increased spatial resolution by 0.2 um size of stage steps. In addition, the 633 nm HeNe laser was replaced with a 532 nm green diode laser to better match the viewing options. Utilization of telomere-deficient mouse cells with short dysfunctional telomeres and matched telomerase reconstituted cultures demonstrated significantly higher mean integral specific fluorescence values for mTR transfectants relative to empty vector controls: 4.485M vs. 1.362M (p<0.0001). Histograms of average telomere intensities for individual cells were obtained and demonstrated intercellular heterogeneity in telomere lengths. The validation of the approach derives from a strong correlation between iCys LSC values and Southern blotting. This validated method greatly increases our experimental throughput and objectivity.

Citation Download Citation

John E. Mahoney, Ergun Sahin, Mariela Jaskelioff, Lynda Chin, Ronald A. DePinho, and Alexei I. Protopopov "Quantification of telomere length by FISH and laser scanning cytometry", Proc. SPIE 6859, Imaging, Manipulation, and Analysis of Biomolecules, Cells, and Tissues VI, 68591V (29 February 2008); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.763858

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