A method for determining a state of a cell, the cell being placed in a sample, in contact with a culture medium, the method comprising: illuminating the sample with a light source and acquiring an image of the sample with an image sensor, the image sensor lying in a detection plane; from the acquired image, locating a position of the cell in a plane parallel to the detection plane; the method further comprising: from the acquired image, estimating a refractive index of the cell or a relative refractive index of the cell, the relative refractive index corresponding to a refractive index of the cell relative to the refractive index of the culture medium; from the estimation of the refractive index or of the relative refractive index, determining an index of interest of the cell; from the index of interest, classifying a state of the cell among predetermined states, the predetermined states comprising at least one apoptosis state and one living state.

The present application relates, in some aspects, to the development of an assay that uses cell survival and/or cell viability as a phenotypic identifier to positively select for agents that destabilize a protein of interest.

The present invention provides a method for screening for an autophagy activator or inhibitor comprising the steps of: (a) making a test material to be analyzed come into contact with cells containing Beclin 1 protein; and (b) analyzing the degree of phosphorylation at the 30.sup.th serine amino acid residue of the Beclin 1 protein. The test material is determined to be an autophagy activator when the phosphorylation of the Beclin 1 protein is up-regulated, and the test material is determined to be an autophagy inhibitor when the phosphorylation of the Beclin 1 protein is down-regulated. The present invention first establishes, by ULK1, the mechanism of phosphorylation at the 30.sup.th serine amino acid residue of Beclin 1.

The invention relates to a composition comprising one or more inhibitors capable of inhibiting at least two of cyclooxygenase-1 (COX-1), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and lipoxygenase or a composition comprising one or more inhibitors capable of inhibiting an enzyme with arachidonate-Co A ligase activity, specifically long-chain-fatty-acid-Co A ligase (ACSL) 1, ACSL3, ACSL4, ACSL5, ACSL6, SLC27A2 or ACSBG2, or a combination thereof for use in selectively eliminating senescent cells. The invention further relates to an in vitro method of identifying senescent cells in a subject and to a method of identifying candidate compounds for the selective elimination of senescent cells.

Genetically encoded death indicator (GEDI) polypeptides and nucleic acid molecules encoding such polypeptides are provided. In addition, methods of using such nucleic acids and polypeptides to monitor cell death events in vitro and in vivo, particularly in neuronal cell death, are also provided.

The present application relates, in some aspects, to the development of an assay that uses cell survival and/or cell viability as a phenotypic identifier to positively select for agents that destabilize a protein of interest.

The present invention relates to an in vitro method for assessing the risk of developing side effects after ionizing radiation treatment in a prostate cancer subject, comprising the steps of a)determining the presence or absence of urinary toxicity in the patient prior to application of ionizing radiation, b)determining the stage of the tumor, c)optionally determining of at least one other clinical parameter, disease parameter or ionizing radiation treatment parameter from the patient, and d)combining a value associated with the presence of urinary toxicity determined in a), a value associated with the stage of the tumor in b), and a value association with the at least one other clinical parameter, disease parameter or ionizing radiation treatment parameter determined in c) in a mathematical function to obtain an end-value

The present invention relates to an in vitro method for assessing the risk of developing side effects after ionizing radiation treatment in a prostate cancer subject, comprising the steps of a) measuring radiation induced T-lymphocytes apoptosis in a sample of the subject; b) determining the presence of urinary toxicity in the patient prior to application of ionizing radiation, and optionally of at least one other clinical parameter, disease parameter or ionizing radiation treatment parameter from the patient, and c) combining the value of the at least one biochemical marker measured in step (a) and a value associated with the at least one clinical parameter, disease parameter or ionizing radiation treatment parameter determined in step (b) in a mathematical function to obtain an end-value.

The present invention provides an antagonist of a Bcl-2 prosurvival protein containing a BH3-like domain. The antagonist of the invention comprises ARTS and any fragment or peptide that comprises a BH3-like domain. The invention further provides compositions, combined compositions and kits as well as methods for treating Bcl-2 over-expressing disorders.

Disclosed herein are antibodies having binding specificity to the amino acid sequences Ala Ser Ser Gly Leu Thr Val Glu Val Asp (SEQ ID NO:1) and Thr Val Glu Val Asp (SEQ ID NO:14), and methods of detecting cell death in a sample, comprising contacting the sample with a first antibody specific for a C-terminal amino acid sequence Ala Ser Ser Gly Leu Thr Val Glu Val Asp (SEQ ID NO:1) or Thr Val Glu Val Asp (SEQ ID NO:14) of a CK18 protein fragment having a C-terminal amino acid sequence of Val Glu Val Asp (SEQ ID NO:2) and a second antibody that specifically binds an epitope that is present in both full-length CK18 and the CK18 protein fragment, and that does not overlap with SEQ ID NO:1 or SEQ ID NO:14, under conditions such that the CK18 protein fragment present in the sample specifically binds to the first antibody and the second antibody, wherein one of the antibodies is bound to a solid support and the other antibody is bound to a detection moiety capable of producing a signal; optionally removing any unbound or excess material; and detecting the signal from the detection moiety, wherein the signal is positively correlated with the presence of the CK18 protein fragment in the sample.