Characterization of Exosomes and Exosomal RNAs Isolated from Post-Mortem Body Fluids for Molecular Forensic Diagnosis

Abstract

Exosomes have been mainly studied for their potential applications in biomarker detection and drug delivery for diagnosis and treatment. However, in the field of forensic research, the potential value of exosomes derived from post-mortem body fluids has not been investigated to date. Here, we isolated the exosomes and exosomal RNAs from post-mortem body fluids, including cardiac blood, pericardial fluid, and urine. We also compared commercial exosome isolation kits to determine the optimal method for post-mortem exosome isolation. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), the Agilent bioanalyzer system, and western blotting were used to evaluate the efficiencies of alternative isolation methods and the characteristics of isolated exosomes. There were no significant differences between exosomes obtained from post-mortem and ante-mortem body fluids in the expression of exosome surface markers or morphology. The exosomes were well-preserved even under simulated post-mortem conditions. Among the isolation procedures tested, the membrane affinity column-based method was the most suitable for post-mortem exosomal RNA isolation. These results suggest that exosomes are well-preserved in post-mortem body fluids and could be utilized for forensic diagnosis.

Plasma extracellular vesicles microRNA-208b-3p and microRNA-143-3p as novel biomarkers for sudden cardiac death prediction in acute coronary syndrome

“…4 Previous studies have shown that it is feasible to isolate EVs from post-mortem body fluids, and EVs RNAs are well-preserved, which could be used for forensic diagnosis. 52 It has been considered that miRNAs in EVs play an important role in cardiovascular diseases and may be able to provide objective evidence of SCD identification in forensic diagnosis. 53 In our study, we found that miR-208b-3p and miR-143-3p in EVs derived from plasma were significantly upregulated in ACS patients experiencing SCD compared with HC.…”