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Acanthocytes

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

Acanthocytes are red blood cells that show many spicules when viewed on a wet film.

  • acanthocytosis refers to the transformation of the normal biconcave disc erythrocyte into one with a few irregularly shaped external projections distributed unevenly at its membrane surface
  • associated with a variety of inherited and acquired disorders
    • acanthocytes were first observed in abetalipoproteinemia more than 50 years ago
    • since the first association the occurrence of acanthocytes has been reported in several other hereditary and acquired disorders including
      • chorea-acanthocytosis
      • McLeod phenotype
      • hereditary spherocytosis with a beta-spectrin deficiency
      • alcoholic cirrhosis
      • uraemia
      • vitamin E deficiency
      • anorexia nervosa
      • hypothyroidism
    • an acanthocyte differs morphologically from the echinocyte, readily induced by contact with glass, which has 10-40 regularly shaped external projections distributed evenly at the membrane surface
      • the acanthocyte is characterized by the presence of a few irregularly shaped external projections distributed unevenly at the membrane surface

Reference:

  • (1) L.D. Walensky, N. Mohandas and I.V. Lux SE, Disorders of the red cell membrane. In: R.H. Handin, I.V. Lux SE and T.P. Stossel, Editors, Blood: principles and practice in hematology (2nd Edition ed.), Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Philadelphia (2003):1709-1858.

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