These assays make use of either measurement of (i) metabolic parameters (activity of metabolic enzyme) as a surrogate readout for the cell's viability, (ii) biochemical and morphological changes during apoptosis, (iii) proliferation rates of cells, and/or (iv) viable cell number employing specific membrane-impermeable dyes to exclude dead (leaky) cells.
Although it serves as an easy readout for screens, cell models, and neuropathology, the exact role of aggregates in the neurodegeneration observed in polyQ diseases is still under debate.
While the qRT-PCR analysis yielded a copy number readout for every cell line, an arbitrary "zero" cut-off for prostasin mRNA expression in the data presentation was set with the KU-7 cell line, which does not express detectable levels of the prostasin protein.
Although secreted IgM is the most commonly used readout for B-cell activation, XBP-1-deficient B cells have a known defect in the synthesis of secreted IgM, and thus we measured B-cell activation in response to various stimuli by IL-6 production instead.
Mammospheres grown in M5 medium were then dissociated and their colony formation capacity, a surrogate readout for progenitor/stem cells [ 40], was assessed.
However, our in vitro studies suggest that loss of Cbl-b does not affect Th17 cell differentiation, which contradicts a recent report in which IL-17 production, but not IL-17 intracellular staining, was used as a readout for Th17 cells (Gruber et al., 2009).
In anticipation of further studies with other epigenetic agents to induce iTreg cells, we desired to have a rapid readout for our suppressor cell assay.
Large-scale and unbiased assessment of morphological abnormalities in the endolysosomal compartment of degenerating neurons either in vivo or in cell culture would be valuable both to define a recognizable neurodegenerative state, and to provide a readout for high-throughput cell-based screening paradigms.
A response to BFA treatment was not detected for any concentration using any of the conventional image-based readouts of cell death (Fig. 2A D ).
Multiparameter analysis of core regulatory proteins involved in G1 S and G2 M cell-cycle transitions provides a powerful biomarker readout for assessment of the cell-cycle state.
