BrdU Incorporation in DNA Synthesis and Cell Proliferation.

BrdU (5-bromo-2-deoxyuridine) is a thymidine analogue which is incorporated into the cells of DNA synthetic phase. Replicating cells undergo DNA synthesis in a highly regulated, S-phase of the cell cycle. The regulation of cell proliferation is central to tissue morphogenesis during the development of multicellular organisms. Furthermore, loss of control of cell proliferation underlies the pathology of diseases like cancer. As such there is great need to be able to investigate cell proliferation and quantitate the proportion of cells in each phase of the cell cycle (1).

Since a cell's decision to proliferate is made in the G1 phase immediately before initiating DNA synthesis and progressing through the rest of the cell cycle, detection of DNA synthesis at this stage allows for an unambiguous determination of the status of growth regulation in cell cultures. Anti-BrdU antibodies have been successfully employed to determine the cell proliferation in cultured tumor cells with high accuracy (2). Accurate determination of the S-phase fraction in proliferative cells has also been determined using anti-BrdU antibodies in various tissues by immunohistochemistry. (3). Analysis of cell kinetics using BrdU antibodies is advantageous in comparison to the conventional autoradiographic methods due to the regulatory issues with the radioactive materials. BrdU antibodies are a powerful tool to study cell proliferation more rapidly through cell based assays and are highly sensitive.

1. PMID: 2083223
2. PMID: 1280304
3. PMID: 21551319

Novus Biologicals offers BrdU reagents for your research needs including:

• BrdU primary antibodies