Rapid discrimination by flow cytometry between viable and non-viable Vero cells treated with Clostridium perfringens enterotoxin

Abstract

Viable and non‐viable African green monkey kidney (Vero) cells after treatment with Clostridium perfringens enterotoxin (CPE) followed by simultaneous double staining with fluorescein diacetate (FDA) and propidium iodide (PI) were counted with a flow cytometer (FCM). Within 1 min the FCM analysed 10 000 Vero cells in a sample for viability. After treatment of Vero cells with CPE for 60 min and staining with FDA‐PI for 5 min, a reproducible dose‐response curve was obtained between 25 and 400 ng/ml of CPE and percentage viable cell numbers. The FCM analysis proved to be a strong tool for rapid discrimination between viable and non‐viable Vero cells treated with CPE in a large number of samples at a time.