To begin the addition of the primary antibody, aspirate the bovine serum albumin or BSA from the fixed and blocked transfected HeLa cells leaving 10 microliters of BSA solution in the well. Then add 10 microliters of the primary antibody solution prepared in 3%BSA in PBS and incubate the plate in the dark at four degrees Celsius overnight. After the incubation, rinse each well four times with 100 microliters of PBS, leaving 10 microliters after the last wash.
Next, add 10 microliters of secondary antibody solution to the 384 well plate. Use isotype specific antibodies conjugated to fluorochromes, such as Alexa Fluor 488 and Alexa Fluor 555. After incubating the plate in the dark for one hour, rinse each well four times with 100 microliters of PBS and leave 50 microliters of PBS in the well after the last wash.
The use of anti-DNA antibodies allowed the monitoring of the mitochondrial DNA distribution in the cell under the given experimental conditions. The downregulation of mitochondrial transcription factor A TFAM led to drastic changes in the mitochondrial DNA distribution with fewer mitochondrial DNA spots than in control cells. Quantifying the mean fluorescent signal from the anti-DNA antibody showed a several fold increase upon TFAM silencing compared to the other conditions tested.
