Cells were examined with a Bio-Rad confocal krypton-argon and ultraviolet laser system, as previously described (Bkaily et al. 1997 (Bkaily et al. , 2004 (Bkaily et al. , 2017;; Ahmarani et al. 2013) .
Briefly, the 488 nm argon laser line (9.0 mV) was directed to the sample via a 510 nm primary dichroic filter and attenuated with a 1%-3% neutral density filter to reduce photobleaching. All the confocal microscope settings (pinhole size, image size, pixel size, laser line intensity, photometric gain, photomultiplier tube settings, and filter attenuation) D r a f t were kept constant throughout the experimental procedures. For each sample, 16-20 sections were recorded covering the entire volume of the cell, constituting a 3dimensional serial section. At the end of each experiment, the nucleus was stained with 100 nmol/L of live cell nucleic acid stain SYTO 11 (Molecular Probes) as described previously (Bkaily et al. 1997 (Bkaily et al. , 2017)) . Scanned images were transferred onto a Silicon Graphics workstation equipped with Molecular Dynamics' ImageSpace analysis and Volume Workbench software modules. The ImageSpace program permits the generation of quantitative 3D images which permits the expression of the measurement per μm 3 .
Images were represented as top-view maximum intensity real 3D projections (not deconvolution) (Bkaily et al. 2017) .
Briefly, the 488 nm argon laser line (9.0 mV) was directed to the sample via a 510 nm primary dichroic filter and attenuated with a 1%-3% neutral density filter to reduce photobleaching. All the confocal microscope settings (pinhole size, image size, pixel size, laser line intensity, photometric gain, photomultiplier tube settings, and filter attenuation) D r a f t were kept constant throughout the experimental procedures. For each sample, 16-20 sections were recorded covering the entire volume of the cell, constituting a 3dimensional serial section. At the end of each experiment, the nucleus was stained with 100 nmol/L of live cell nucleic acid stain SYTO 11 (Molecular Probes) as described previously (Bkaily et al. 1997 (Bkaily et al. , 2017)) . Scanned images were transferred onto a Silicon Graphics workstation equipped with Molecular Dynamics' ImageSpace analysis and Volume Workbench software modules. The ImageSpace program permits the generation of quantitative 3D images which permits the expression of the measurement per μm 3 .
Images were represented as top-view maximum intensity real 3D projections (not deconvolution) (Bkaily et al. 2017) .