Wyllie A H, Beattie G J, Hargreaves A D
Histochem J. 1981 Jul;13(4):681-92. doi: 10.1007/BF01002719.
Murine lymphoid cell lines and rat thymocytes treated in vitro with glucocorticoid hormones provide a convenient system for studying the nuclear changes in apoptosis. Morphologically the nucleolus disintegrates and chromatin undergoes an unusual generalized condensation. This is associated with excision of most of the nuclear DNA to short but well-organized chains of nucleosomes, apparently by an endogenous non-lysosomal nuclease. The process is dependent upon macromolecular synthesis and probably is mediated, at least remotely, by the classical steroid-receptor-gene activation pathway. A similar process of chromatin condensation and excision can be produced by the calcium-magnesium ionophore A23187. In other circumstances of 'programmed cell death', analogous chromatin condensation, excision and requirements for macromolecular synthesis have been documented.
用糖皮质激素体外处理的小鼠淋巴细胞系和大鼠胸腺细胞，为研究细胞凋亡中的细胞核变化提供了一个便利的系统。在形态学上，核仁解体，染色质发生异常的广泛凝聚。这与大部分核DNA被切割成短而有序的核小体链有关，显然是由一种内源性非溶酶体核酸酶介导的。该过程依赖于大分子合成，并且可能至少在一定程度上是由经典的类固醇受体-基因激活途径介导的。钙-镁离子载体A23187也能产生类似的染色质凝聚和切割过程。在其他“程序性细胞死亡”的情况下，也记录到了类似的染色质凝聚、切割以及对大分子合成的需求。
