A second article on apoptosis will be published June 25. A few years ago the ultimate fate of dead cells was the laboratory trashcan. Pharmaceutical companies that are keen to establish the efficacy and safety of drugs must deal with complex cause-effect relationships while screening for cytotoxicity.
Drugs can induce cell proliferation at low doses and kill cells at higher concentrations.
It would be egregious to suggest that all cells die apoptotically, despite the abundance of apoptosis detection kits. Chemicals can irreversibly damage or destroy a cell without causing apoptosis or even morphological changes. An initial screening for drug safety therefore takes cell viability into account, while further studies can be carried out to determine if xenobiotically-induced apoptosis occurs. This article reviews global screening techniques for most mechanisms of cytotoxicity and cell death. A future LabConsumer profile will discuss specific stages of apoptosis in particular.