Reliability of neutrophilic nuclear appendages in morphological sex differentiation

Abstract

Background:The inactive X-chromosome in neutrophils appears in one of the three forms. They are drumsticks, racquet forms, and sessile nodules. Objective: A correlative study based on the presence of "drumstick and other nuclear appendages" in polymorphonuclear neutrophils to determine the morphological sex. Materials and Methods: Sixty-eight randomly selected blood smears (34 males and 34 females) were stained with Leishman's stain. One hundred well-stained neutrophils were double-blindly studied in the tail-end of the smears and classified into four groups based on Kosenow's formula as drumstick (Form A), sessile nodule (Form B), and other pedunculated nuclear projections such as tag and hooks (Form C). Results: Significant correlation of neutrophilic nuclear appendage of Form A (P = 0.00001) and Form C (P = 0.00016) was obtained for females and males, respectively. Difference of A-C gives a positive value in females and a negative value in males. Conclusion: Neutrophilic nuclear appendages which include true drumsticks, sessile nodules, and racket structures form a useful tool for morphological sex differentiation. ABSTRACT Access this article onlineWebsite: http://www.ijmsph.com Quick Response code

Sex Chromatin in Peripheral Blood Neutrophils and Sex Determination

“…This fact was confirmed by Verma and Adinarayan investigation (2017) [4]. Results showed that numbers of drumsticks were greater in females than in males [4] [8]. These results confirm the fact that drumstick count is certainly related to sex.…”

“…In this study, neutrophils bear the same amount of appendages in both sexes and neutrophilic nuclear appendages were seen in nearly same frequency both in female and male subjects [4] [8]. This fact was confirmed by Verma and Adinarayan investigation (2017) [4]. Results showed that numbers of drumsticks were greater in females than in males [4] [8].…”

“…Recording of sex chromatin has gained importance in human genetics for establishing the relationship with X-chromosome and determination of the sex of individual has great medico-legal importance to solve many criminal and civil problems [4]. Post mortem blood is good for up to about 6 hours after death for this determination because the leucocytes undergo lysis and degradative changes quite soon after death [5].…”

“…The frequencies and the distribution of these appendages were not influenced by sex only, but also by many other factors such as hormones, granulocytes metabolism, cell proliferation, and age [4] [8].…”

“…Drumsticks are present in peripheral blood of individuals carrying more than one X-chromosome in at least part of their granulocytes [4]. A drumstick consists of a small nuclear mass of about 1.5 μ in diameter, attached to the body of the nucleus by means of a thin stalk [ [11].…”