Simultaneous multi-parameter observation of Harringtonine-treating HL-60 cells with both two-photon and confocal laser scanning microscopy.

Harringtonine (HT), a kind of anticancer drug isolated from Chinese herb-Cephalotaxus hainanensis Li, can induce apoptosis in promyelocytic leukemia HL-60 cells. With both two-photon laser scanning microscopy and confocal laser scanning microscopy in combination with the fluorescent probe Hoechst 33342, tetramethyrhodamine ethyl ester (TMRE) and Fluo 3-AM, we simultaneously observed HT-induced changes in nuclear morphology, mitochondrial membrane potential and intracellular calcium concentration ([Ca(2+)](i)) in HL-60 cells, and developed a real-time, sensitive and invasive method for simultaneous multi-parameter observation of drug-treating living cells at the level of single cell.