| Abstract: |
The stathmokinetic or metaphase-arrest technique has been introduced as a procedure for estimating cell production or birthrates. By determining the percentage of mitotic cells in a culture at various times following the addition of a chemical agent that arrests cells during division, it is possible to obtain a plot of the increase in mitosis as a function of time. If the growth fraction (GF) is known, the slope of the mitotic accumulation curve will, under certain circumstances, provide an estimate of the cell cycle duration or cell doubling time. This stathmokinetic approach has been widely used over the past several decades to analyze the kinetics of cell growth both in vitro and in vivo. The chapter also reviews various stathmokinetic techniques and discusses their advantages and limitations. Several reviews detailing the flow cytometric (FCM) analysis of stathmokinetic experiments are discussed as are mathematical analyses and interpretation of data obtained from such experiments. © 1990, Academic Press Inc. |
