The Application of MTT Colorimetric Assay to Measured the Proliferation of Lymphocytes and the Activity of Rat/Mouse IL2 / 中国免疫学杂志

We have found the parallel relationship between the live cell number of several tumor cell lines and the formation of MTT formazan with MTT colorimetric assay. The MTT colorimetric assay was compared with ~3H-Tdr incorporation assay for the proliferation of mouse spleen cells induced by mitogens or the activity of rat/mouse IL2,the results suggested that the ~3H-Tdr incorporation assay can be replaced by MTT colorimetric assay. MTT colorimetric assay have the advantages of simplicity, rapidity,save any radioisotope and no specific equivepment, etc, so under some conditions it would be a useful method for measuring cell proliferation or cytotoxicity in a laboratory.