The dynamics of nuclear morphology changes during apoptosis remains poorly investigated and understood. Using 3D time-lapse confocal microscopy we performed a study of early-stage apoptotic nuclear morphological changes induced by etoposide in single living HepG2 cells. These observations provide a definitive evidence that nuclear apoptotic volume decrease (AVD) is occurring simultaneously with peripheral chromatin condensation (so called "apoptotic ring"). In order to describe quantitatively the dynamics of nuclear morphological changes in the early stage of apoptosis we suggest a general molecular kinetic model, which fits well the obtained experimental data in our study. Results of this work may clarify molecular mechanisms of nuclear morphology changes during apoptosis.

Department of Genetics Stanford University Campus Drive 279 Stanford CA 94305 USA

Institute of Biophysics Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic v v i Kralovopolska 135 Brno CZ 612 65 Czech Republic

Voevodsky Institute of Chemical Kinetics and Combustion Institutskaya 3 Novosibirsk 630090 Russia

Voevodsky Institute of Chemical Kinetics and Combustion Institutskaya 3 Novosibirsk 630090 Russia; Novosibirsk State University Pirogova 2 Novosibirsk 630090 Russia

Voevodsky Institute of Chemical Kinetics and Combustion Institutskaya 3 Novosibirsk 630090 Russia; Novosibirsk State University Pirogova 2 Novosibirsk 630090 Russia; Novosibirsk State Medical University Krasny Prospect 52 Novosibirsk 630091 Russia

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