Observation of DNA and Protein Distributions in Mammalian Cell Nuclei using STXM.

A whole A549 cell and isolated nuclei of HeLa S3 cells in the apoptotic process were investigated by using a scanning transmission X-ray microscope (STXM) in the UVSOR Synchrotron (Okazaki, Japan). Near edge X-ray absorption fine structures (NEXAFS) of DNA and histone in the N K-edge region were measured as reference and their distribution in the nuclei was determined by using these reference spectra. The four stages of the apoptosis were successfully distinguished. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]