Identification of Apoptotic Cells by Means of Lectin Histochemistry: State of the Art Review

Abstract

Apoptosis is a cellular phenomenon of great importance in the cellular homeostasis of tissues and organs. For many years diverse techniques have been developed for the identification and differentiation of normal and apoptotic cells, but only in cells isolated in cultures as in histology sections. These techniques are based on the modifications that cells suffer during the process of apoptosis. One of these changes is linked with modifications of glycoconjugates in the glycocalix of cells, which allows the use of lectins for identification of these apoptotic cells. In this review, we first present the data obtained to date with this approach for the detection of apoptotic cells with lectins, both using flow cytometry and, especially, cytochemical methods. Secondly we comment on the results obtained in the detection of apoptotic cells with classical lectin histochemistry using histological sections of the seminiferous epithelium. These results open the possibility of using lectins in normal and pathological organs as a tool to identify “in situ” apoptotic cells both in the initial and late phases of apoptosis although further studies are needed in other organs to determine their usefulness and effectiveness over others identification techniques of “in situ” apoptosis.