Many assays are available to discern whether dead and dying cells are undergoing apoptosis or necrosis. Because caspases are the central executioners involved in apoptosis, their activity is a hallmark of this form of cell death. Detection of caspase activity is conveniently done with chromogenic substrates such as DEVD-pNA or its more sensitive fluorogenic counterpart, DEVD-AFC. Because of the high caspase concentrations in crude extracts or cytosol preparations, it is possible to perform activity assays in a conveniently small sample volume. Caspase activation is a central biochemical process in apoptosis. Caspase activity assays in multi-well plate formats represent powerful tools for understanding experimental modulation of the apoptotic response.
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