Figure 3.

Nuclear expansion and changes in chromatin structure during podocyte differentiation. (a) Representative images show the nuclei of nondifferentiated human podocytes kept under 33°C (permissive condition, left) and the nuclei of differentiated podocytes grown for 14 days at 37°C (nonpermissive condition, right) stained with DAPI. The size of the nucleus increased during the process of differentiation. (b) Chromatin structures in immature and mature podocytes are apparently different. Nuclear preparation of undifferentiated cells contains visible chromosomes with more condensed chromatin structure and several foci of heterochromatin in contrast with the loosely packed chromatin from differentiated cells.