of necroptosis and investigation of its contribution to pathophysiological
conditions [21]. Altogether, these observations have
discredited the paradigm of necrosis as a merely accidental form
of cell death and they provide strong indications for the existence
of a regulated form of necrosis that can be specifically targeted just
like apoptosis.
It is important to distinguish necrosis from other forms of cell
death, particularly because it is often associated with non-physiological
loss of cells in human pathologies [22–24]. It can also lead
to local inflammation due to the release of intracellular factors
from dead cells. These factors, the damage associated molecular
patterns and the alarmins, are recognized by cognate pattern
recognition receptors of the innate immune system. However, no
biochemical marker is available for unambiguously discriminating
necrosis from apoptosis. In this review, we describe a selection of
techniques to quantify cell death and to discriminate necrosis from
apoptosis. We stress that accurate discrimination is only possible
through an integrated approach based on several morphological
and biochemical parameters. We describe protocols for the L929
fibrosarcoma cell line to illustrate techniques for detection of
apoptotic and necrotic cell death [25].