[Histonet] Is TUNEL as waste of time?

[Satoshi Akima]

Dear all,

I am looking into the Roche TUNEL kit and have been getting various 
opinions. Some say it is easy and reviewers will ask for a TUNEL stain 
in preference to other methods such as staining for caspase-3. However 
many people find that they get non-specific staining and even where 
things seem to have gone well you get a great many cells that seem 
absolutely healthy staining up positive.

Do people think that TUNEL is a sham technique that ivory tower 
reviewers who never get their hands dirty in the lab ask for, never 
realising how hopeless the technique is? Or is it still a genuinely 
useful tool?

Toshi Akima
PhD Student
Centre for Transplantation and Renal Research
Westmead Millenium Institute
Sydney, Australia