The Use of Carboxyfluorescein Diacetate Succinimidyl Ester (CFSE) to Monitor Lymphocyte Proliferation

Carboxyfluorescein succinimidyl ester (CFSE) is an effective and popular means to monitor lymphocyte division 1-3. CFSE covalently labels longlived intracellular molecules with the fluorescent dye, carboxyfluorescein.Thus, when a CFSE-labeled cell divides, its progeny are endowed with half the number of carboxyfluorescein-tagged molecules and thus each cell division can be assessed by measuring the corresponding decrease in cell fluorescence via Flow cytometry.The capacity of CFSE to label lymphocyte populations with a high fluorescent intensity of exceptionally low variance, coupled with its low cell toxicity, make it an ideal dye to measure cell division.Since it is a fluorescein-based dye it is also compatible with a broad range of other fluorochromes making it applicable to multi-color flow cytometry.This article describes the procedures typically used for labeling mouse lymphocytes for the purpose of monitoring up to 8 cell divisions.These labeled cells can be used both for in vitro and in vivo studies.