Transformation of nuclear morphology during cellular maturation.

Using in vivo labeling of mouse leukocytes with tritiated thymidine, cells in the neutrophilic series were studied to determine the change in their nuclear shape as a function of maturation level. Several morphologic shape parameters including perimeter and bending energy were used to quantify the distribution of the nuclear morphology in a given age cohort. The change in these distributions as a function of calender age level was determined. The two parameters named above were used to test the possibility of inferring the age from the quantitative morphology.