 <unk> is a controlled process in which the cell 's structural components are destroyed , resulting in death of the cell . Changes associated with apoptosis directly affect the nucleus and its contents , for example , in the condensation of chromatin and the disintegration of the nuclear envelope and lamina . The destruction of the lamin networks is controlled by specialized apoptotic <unk> called <unk> , which <unk> the lamin proteins and , thus , <unk> the nucleus ' structural integrity . <unk> cleavage is sometimes used as a laboratory indicator of <unk> activity in assays for early apoptotic activity . <unk> that express mutant <unk> @-@ resistant lamins are deficient in nuclear changes related to apoptosis , suggesting that lamins play a role in initiating the events that lead to apoptotic degradation of the nucleus . <unk> of lamin assembly itself is an <unk> of apoptosis . 
