Application note: Distinguishing cell types by phenotypic profiling

Describing how a single nuclear stain can enable phenotypic profiling for new and additional perspectives on assays at no extra cost.

The promise of high-content screening is the acceleration of discovery by extracting as much relevant information as possible from cells. Nevertheless, a large percentage of high-content screens analyse only a small number of image-based properties.

As nearly all screening approaches require a nuclear counterstain to facilitate segmentation, phenotypic profiling of the nuclei can offer new and additional perspectives on assays at no extra cost.

This study shows how a single nuclear stain can enable phenotypic profiling and how phenotypic profiles can be used to distinguish up to seven different cell types, without further staining or phenotypic markers. Such methods could be applied to other fluorescent labels, opening up new horizons for unbiased drug discovery and disease research.

This application note describes how to:

• Distinguish cell types based exclusively on nuclear staining
• Generate detailed phenotypic profiles using texture and advanced morphology parameters

Apply machine learning classification tools and visualisation tools, such as Principle Component Analysis, to better understand multiparametric data sets