Detection of Cell Death in Neuronal Cultures

In this chapter we describe a technically simple and cost-effective method for quantifying apoptotic and non-apoptotic cell death in primary neuronal cultures. The method consists of three assays: cell viability assay, nuclear morphology assay, and caspase-3 activity assay (Cregan et al. J Cell Biol 2002; 158(3):507–517). A significant advantage of these assays is that they do not require fixation or washing steps that cause dead cells to detach from the tissue culture dish, resulting in an underestimation of the extent of cell death.