The present study was undertaken to provide complementary information on heterochromatin condensation in central and peripheral nuclear regions during maturation of human leukemic lymphocytes using simple image processing and DNA image densitometry at the single cell level. Such approach indicated that the heterochromatin condensation in perinucleolar and extranucleolar "gene rich" central nucleolar regions preceded that in the "gene poor" nuclear periphery at the nuclear membrane.
Thus, the maturation of lymphocytes was accompanied by a marked increase of the heterochromatin condensation at the nuclear membrane that reflected the maturity of these cells...