Cell viability and cytotoxicity assays: Biochemical elements and cellular compartments

Abstract

Cell viability and cytotoxicity assays play a crucial role in drug screening and evaluating the cytotoxic effects of various chemicals. The quantification of cell viability and proliferation serves as the cornerstone for numerous in vitro assays that assess cellular responses to external factors. In the last decade, several studies have developed guidelines for defining and interpreting cell viability and cytotoxicity based on morphological, biochemical, and functional perspectives. As this domain continues to experience ongoing growth, revealing new mechanisms orchestrating diverse cell cytotoxicity pathways, we suggest a revised classification for multiple assays employed in evaluating cell viability and cell death. This classification is rooted in the cellular compartment and/or biochemical element involved, with a specific focus on mechanistic and essential aspects of the process. The assays are founded on diverse cell functions, encompassing metabolic activity, enzyme activity, cell membrane permeability and integrity, adenosine 5′‐triphosphate content, cell adherence, reduction equivalents, dye inclusion or exclusion, constitutive protease activity, colony formation, DNA fragmentation and nuclear splitting. These assays present straightforward, reliable, sensitive, reproducible, cost‐effective, and high‐throughput approaches for appraising the effects of newly formulated chemotherapeutic biomolecules on the cell survival during the drug development process.

A Snake Venom Peptide and Its Derivatives Prevent Aβ42 Aggregation and Eliminate Toxic Aβ42 Aggregates In Vitro

“…Our results clearly illustrate that the chosen peptides exhibit different effects depending on both the concentration and cell type, which can be explained due to differences between cell types, tissue origin, and biological function. The literature extensively discusses how the choice of tissue or cell type used in a study can alter the performance and results of cytotoxicity and/or cell viability assays . Cell viability and cytotoxicity assays rely on diverse cellular functions, such as cell membrane permeability, enzyme activity, cell adherence, ATP production, coenzyme production, and nucleotide uptake activity .…”