Comparative measurement of spontaneous apoptosis in pediatric acute leukemia by different techniques.

Background: To distinguish between subgroups of patients with acute leukemia, the rate of spontaneous (culture-induced) apoptosis of leukemic cells was evaluated using five methods.

Methods: Leukemic cells (cells) from the bone marrow of children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL, n = 112) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML, n = 30) were cultured for 20 h in vitro. The level of apoptosis was detected by fluorescent microscopy after staining with acridine orange (AO) or by flow cytometry after staining using PI, JC-1, the APO-BRDU kit, or the AnnexinV-FITC kit.