Analysis of DNA synthesis rate of cultured cells from flow cytometric data

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Abstract
The rate of DNA synthesis along S phase is estimated from flow cytometric histograms on the basis of a mathematical model of a cell population. In the absence of loss, the model expresses the population kinetics in terms of DNA synthesis rate, S‐phase influx, and population size. A single histogram is sufficient to determine the DNA synthesis rate when the population is in balanced exponential growth. Two suitably chosen histograms are necessary if the S‐phase influx is exponential in a time interval longer than the S‐phase duration. The analysis procedure was tested on published autoradiographic data and applied to three cultured cell lines (CM‐S, 3LL, and M14 cells) that show various patterns of DNA distribution. In each case the cell‐cycle fractions, the DNA synthesis rate, and the S‐phase duration were obtained.