Apoptosis is an active form of cell death that plays a critical role in lymphocyte development, selection and homeostasis. This process is characterized by the activation of biochemical pathways that lead to changes in cellular morphology (including cell shrinkage, membrane blebbing and nuclear condensation), DNA fragmentation, perturbation of mitochondrial membrane function and changes in the plasma membrane. Each of these cellular alterations can be rapidly quantitated in lymphocyte apoptosis using flow cytometry.
