Analysis of Cell Cycle Distribution in Cells Treated with Cancer Therapy Using Fluorescent Microscopy

The effectiveness of cancer therapies usually depend on how well they can disrupt the cell cycles of dividing cancer cells. In this study, we used Fluorescent Ubiquitination-based Cell Cycle Indicator (FUCCI) to track the cell cycle progression in multiple cancer cell lines treated with various drugs. FUCCI essentially color codes the cells, showcasing which stage of the cell cycle they’re in by marking G1 phase with red fluorescence, S/G2/M phases in green, and the G1/S transition being yellow since it has both. Using ZEISS microscopy software for fluorescence microscopy, we analyzed both treated and untreated cancer cell lines to see how different treatments result in a different distribution of cells among the stages of the cell cycle. Our study focused on comparing the percentage of cells in each stage between untreated and treated cell lines. This allows us to determine which drugs may cause cell cycle arrest or change cell cycle progression in other ways. For example, differences in the number of cells arrested in the G1 phase can indicate successful treatment. Overall, our findings will give us insight into the effectiveness of cancer therapies by assessing their ability to halt cell cycle progression in cancer cells.