Our results demonstrate that in MEFs apoptotic stimuli induce the redistribution of all three proteins before caspase activation, cytochrome c release and morphological signs of apoptosis. Noticeably, the re-distribution process doesn’t involve conventional Flupirtine NT conformational alterations of Bax or Bak and is dependent upon a new purpose of both proapoptotic proteins that can’t be inhibited by Bcl xL overexpression. Results Stress-induced redistribution of H1, NPM and nucleolin, however not of KAP 1, occurs early after inducing apoptosis, independently of apoptosome and caspases. First, we wanted to confirm that various apoptotic stimuli change the subcellular distribution of nuclear proteins NPM, H1 and nucleolin, an activity that, in this study, is called redistribution. Ergo, we treated wild type MEFs with 25 mM cisplatin, 1 mM camptothecin, 1 mM doxorubicin or 100nM staurosporine for differing times and monitored the redistribution by immunofluorescence analysis. As expected Retroperitoneal lymph node dissection in healthier MEFs, all three proteins primarily resided in the nucleus. NPM and nucleolin were confined to nucleoli, whereas H1 was present through the entire nucleus. In reaction to apoptotic stimuli, MEFs underwent time dependent apoptosis, as based on annexin V/PI FACS analysis. Concomitantly with the death process, the distribution of most three proteins changed dramatically, but each protein showed a distinct behavior. NPM was equally dispersed in the cytoplasm, and this often correlated with a decreased expression in the nuclei and nucleoli. Nucleolin also appeared in the cytoplasm but was significantly less than NPM. Larger magnifications revealed a granular immunofluorescence routine of cytosolic nucleolin, spread for the duration of Cathepsin Inhibitor 1 the cytoplasm without having to be limited to a particular subcellular compartment such as for instance mitochondria. Sometimes nucleolin redistribution was hardly found, both in the cytosol and in the nuclei. This was probably because of incomplete nucleolin degradation and not cell destruction because intact nuclei were revealed by Hoechst 33258 staining still. Eventually, the nuclear staining of H1 staining was markedly reduced, and a low quantity of punctuated, extranuclear H1 immunofluorescence was seen in reaction to apoptotic stressors. This structure is reminiscent of that previously described for cytosolic H1 in stress induced thymocytes and MEFs, and was somewhat associated with mitochondria. The quantification of NPM, nucleolin and H1 redistribution by specific cell counting unmasked that although this process also occurred in untreated MEFs at low frequency, it substantially increased for several three proteins in cells subjected to cisplatin, camptothecin, doxorubicin or staurosporine. Nucleolin is just a nucleolar protein associated with chromatin remodeling, DNA recombination and replication, RNA transcription, rRNA processing and mRNA stabilization.