H3K27me3 immunostaining for sex determination in the context of presumed tissue misidentification

Abstract

We have read with great interest the correspondence by Dr Crotty¹ and colleagues on the use of XIST chromogenic in situ hybridization for sex determination in the context of presumed tissue misidentification.

The authors refer to H3K27me3 immunostaining which has been reported to label the inactivated X chromosome² and therefore may serve the same purpose as XIST ISH, i.e. an in situ analysis of sex. The mentioned study by Dr Schaefer and colleagues beautifully describes the morphological phenomenon and discusses the underlying biology, but does not formally assess the applicability of H3K27me3 immunostaining for sex determination in a routine setting.

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