By Emma Jones

Faculty Mentor: Janet Asper, Randall Reif

Abstract

Fluorescence microscopy is commonly used to visualize the process of apoptosis, or programmed cell death, in living cells. Previous studies have shown that proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), such as omeprazole, have the ability to induce apoptosis in cells due to the buildup of H+ ions acidifying the inside of the cell. One challenge to using fluorescence microscopy to monitor apoptosis is the limited number of fluorescent probes depending on the microscope’s capabilities. Preliminary studies that analyzed apoptosis in Jurkat T lymphocytes induced using PPIs showed that a high background signal from the drugs may cause interference with the Annexin V-FITC and propidium iodide probes used to detect the apoptosis. Therefore, this study’s goal was to evaluate the fluorescence spectroscopic properties of the drugs used in our PPI studies which include omeprazole, dexlansoprazole, esomeprazole, and doxorubicin. Preliminary data indicates that doxorubicin, used as a positive control to induce apoptosis, showed an excitation maximum of 470nm and emission maximum of 592nm at concentrations of both 1 μM and 10 μM. Analysis of omeprazole, dexlansoprazole and esomeprazole at the same concentrations showed minimal fluorescence. These studies will help us determine the potential limitations to using PPIs with fluorescence microscopy and allow us to optimize our procedures in future studies.