I would like to diskuss a topic that recently came up here, concerning the use of brdu. Several publications point to the effect of brdu on cell and especially neuronal -differentiation. I.e. the Results of WJ Biggers et al. (Teratology 35 (1):63-75, 1987) "indicate, that brdu incorporation into DNA of primordial cells (of rats) significantly affects neurogenesis and differentation of neurites from neuroblasts which is a specific cytodifferentation characteristic of neuronal cells". Another paper by S. Ohta et al. (Acta.Paediatr.Jpn 33(4):428, 1991) even praises brdu's ability to induce neuronal differentiation in a cell line derived from Ewing's sarcoma cells. The 30h old zebrafish-embryos in my own experiment's look quite strange after injecting brdu into the yolk at 12h. This, however, semms to be concentration dependent, but the effects at lower concentrations might just be more subtile. For these reasons I hesitated to use brdu. Now after this extensive discussion about brdu-Protocols it appeared to me that it's use is very common.
Therefore my question: Are there any special conditions that have to be met when using brdu to prevent effect on cell differentiation?
Many thanks in advance for answers.
Cyrus Papan
email:cyrus.papan@uni-koeln.de
Address:
Institut fur Entwicklungsbiologie
Gyrhofstr. 17
50931 Koeln, Germany