Fractal Analysis of Heterochromatin Nuclear Domains in Lymphocytes

In this study we analyse the chromatin contour in electron microscopic images of human peripheral lymphocytes by fractal dimension (FD), in order to demonstrate the different FD values in different nuclear domains. Fractal analysis shows that the heterochromatin associated with the nuclear envelope (NEHC) has an FD value of 1.248, lower than the other heterochromatic regions, such as nuclear heterochromatin scattered in the nucleoplasm (NHC) with an FD value of 1.33, and nucleolus-associated heterochromatin (NUHC), whose FD value is 1.31. The peculiar structural organisation of the NEHC could be related to the absence of active gene sequences in this region characterised by higher condensation.