Pyknosis
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pyknosis, or karyopyknosis, or Pyknotic nuclei, is the condensation of chromatin in the nucleus of a cell undergoing programmed cell death or necrosis (see Naoufal Zamzami and Guido Kroemer: "Apoptosis: Condensed matter in cell death", Nature Vol. 401 p. 127, 9 September. 1999 [1]).
It is followed by Karyorrhexis, or fragmentation of the nucleus.
Pyknosis occurs due to the fragmentation of DNA during apoptosis.
[edit] See also
- Apoptosis, especially the section on the morphology of apoptotic cells.
- Karyorrhexis
- Pyknosis
- Necrosis