Fluorescent methods for studying subnuclear particles.

Abstract

Fluorescence assays can be used to reveal molecular interactions through rapidly demonstrable particle-associated events. The additional fact that in many cases fluorescent particles may be analyzed on a per-event basis lends credence to such techniques as probes for biologically significant perturbations and their resolution. Perhaps more importantly, the sorting capability of the flow cytometer enables detailed study of these events in cells in relation to their positions in the cell cycle. Further studies on the effect of drugs and other modalities on the organization of the genome and the nuclear matrix should prove of interest because the interactions of chromatin and this subnuclear particle could be predictive of the state of DNA metabolism under such conditions. With the additional ability of following such organizational changes through the cell cycle, the mechanisms of reversal of perturbing events might be elucidated.