Forensic microbiology applications: A systematic review

Spagnolo, Elvira Ventura; Stassi, Chiara; Mondello, Cristina; Zerbo, Stefania; Milone, Livio; Argo, Antonina

doi:10.1016/j.legalmed.2018.11.002

Cited by 40 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…The negativity reported in some cases could be explained by: 1) the early “window” period in which RT-PCR cannot detect the RNA; 2) the different clinical and biological evolution of the infection in the late phase resulting in subjects both negative or continuously positive; 3) the immune interindividual variability and the different virus haplotype ( Sessa F. et al, 2020 ; Carter et al, 2020 ; Kucirka et al, 2020 ; Lescure et al, 2020 ; Norsa et al, 2020 ; Shen et al, 2020 ; Yi, 2020 ). Other factors affecting the RT-PCR results can be the sampling technique and post-mortem tissue degradation ( Ventura Spagnolo et al, 2019b ; Stassi et al, 2020 ; Youd and Moore, 2020 ). Moreover, this investigation was performed on other organs, resulting in positivity in the heart, liver, spleen, kidney, and testis of few cases ( Wichmann et al, 2020 ; Bradley et al, 2020 ; Sekulic et al, 2020 ; Menter et al, 2020 ; Hanley et al, 2020b ; Tian et al, 2020b ; Lindner et al, 2020 ; Iuga et al, 2020 ], supporting that the SARS-CoV-2 might determine a direct effect not only on respiratory tissue.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pathological Findings in COVID-19 as a Tool to Define SARS-CoV-2 Pathogenesis. A Systematic Review

et al. 2021

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Introduction: The World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. COVID-19 still represents a worldwide health emergency, which causesa severe disease that has led to the death of many patients. The pathophysiological mechanism of SARS-CoV-2 determining the tissue damage is not clear and autopsycan be auseful tool to improve the knowledge of this infection and, thus, it can help achieve a timely diagnosis and develop an appropriate therapy. This is an overview of the main post-mortem findings reporting data on the infection effects on several organs.Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted in the PubMed database searching for articles from 1 January to August 31, 2020. Thearticles were selected identifying words/concepts in the titles and/or abstracts that indicated the analysis of the morphological/pathological tissue injuries related to SARS-CoV-2 disease by several investigations.Results: A total of 63 articles were selected. The main investigated tissue was the lung showing a diffuse alveolar damage (DAD) frequently associated with pulmonary thrombotic microangiopathy. Inflammatory findings and vascular damage were observed in other organs such as heart, liver, kidney, brain, spleen, skin and adrenal gland. The immunohistochemical analysis showed tissue inflammatory cells infiltrates. The virus presence was detected by several investigations such as RT-PCR, immunohistochemistry and electron microscope, showing the effect ofSARS-CoV-2not exclusively in the lung.Discussion: The evidence emerging from this review highlighted the importance of autopsy to provide a fundamental base in the process of understanding the consequences ofSARS-CoV-2 infection. COVID-19 is strictly related to a hyper inflammatory state that seems to start with DAD and immuno-thrombotic microangiopathy. Massive activation of the immune system and microvascular damage might also be responsible for indirect damage to other organs, even if the direct effect of the virus on these tissues cannot be excluded.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pathological Findings in COVID-19 as a Tool to Define SARS-CoV-2 Pathogenesis. A Systematic Review

et al. 2021

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“…In light of this, an accurate comprehension of the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying the evolution of COVID-19 disease, especially in critical patients, is of utmost importance in order to find effective treatment strategies. To this end, a multidisciplinary approach is needed, comprehensive of clinical, biochemical, radiologic, biomolecular, and forensic investigations, each representing a piece of the whole puzzle [ 50 , 51 , 52 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Insight into the Role of Postmortem Immunohistochemistry in the Comprehension of the Inflammatory Pathophysiology of COVID-19 Disease and Vaccine-Related Thrombotic Adverse Events: A Narrative Review

Stassi

Mondello

Baldino

et al. 2021

IJMS

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On 11 March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a pandemic due to the spread of COVID-19 from Wuhan, China, causing high mortality rates all over the world. The related disease, which mainly affects the lungs, is responsible for the onset of Diffuse Alveolar Damage (DAD) and a hypercoagulability state, frequently leading to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and multiorgan failure, particularly in old and severe-critically ill patients. In order to find effective therapeutic strategies, many efforts have been made aiming to shed light on the pathophysiology of COVID-19 disease. Moreover, following the late advent of vaccination campaigns, the need for the comprehension of the pathophysiology of the fatal, although rare, thrombotic adverse events has become mandatory as well. The achievement of such purposes needs a multidisciplinary approach, depending on a correct interpretation of clinical, biochemical, biomolecular, and forensic findings. In this scenario, autopsies have helped in defining, on both gross and histologic examinations, the main changes to which the affected organs undergo and the role in assessing whether a patient is dead “from” or “with” COVID-19, not to mention whether the existence of a causal link exists between vaccination and thrombotic adverse events. In the present work, we explored the role of postmortem immunohistochemistry, and the increasingly used ancillary technique, in helping to understand the mechanism underlying the pathophysiology of both COVID-19 disease and COVID-19 vaccine-related adverse and rare effects.

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“…These results suggest that other studies aiming to evaluate the correlation between adrenal β2-AR expression and the activation of SA system and HPA axis (not investigated in the present study) could be very useful to improve the knowledge of stress response processes. Furthermore, in a medicolegal approach to the causes and mechanisms of death, adrenal gland analysis could prove to be, as well as other second level investigations [50,51,52,53,54,55,56], a useful tool to improve the etiopathogenetic assessment of stress-related death.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Post-Mortem Immunohistochemical Evidence of β2-Adrenergic Receptor Expression in the Adrenal Gland

Spagnolo

Mondello

Cardia

et al. 2019

IJMS

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The evidence from post-mortem biochemical studies conducted on cortisol and catecholamines suggest that analysis of the adrenal gland could provide useful information about its role in human pathophysiology and the stress response. Authors designed an immunohistochemical study on the expression of the adrenal β2-adrenergic receptor (β2-AR), a receptor with high-affinity for catecholamines, with the aim to show which zones it is expressed in and how its expression differs in relation to the cause of death. The immunohistochemical study was performed on adrenal glands obtained from 48 forensic autopsies of subjects that died as a result of different pathogenic mechanisms using a mouse monoclonal β2-AR antibody. The results show that immunoreactivity for β2-AR was observed in all adrenal zones. Furthermore, immunoreactivity for β2-AR has shown variation in the localization and intensity of different patterns in relation to the original cause of death. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that demonstrates β2-AR expression in the human cortex and provides suggestions on the possible involvement of β2-AR in human cortex hormonal stimulation. In conclusion, the authors provide a possible explanation for the observed differences in expression in relation to the cause of death.

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Forensic microbiology applications: A systematic review

Cited by 40 publications

References 42 publications

Pathological Findings in COVID-19 as a Tool to Define SARS-CoV-2 Pathogenesis. A Systematic Review

Pathological Findings in COVID-19 as a Tool to Define SARS-CoV-2 Pathogenesis. A Systematic Review

An Insight into the Role of Postmortem Immunohistochemistry in the Comprehension of the Inflammatory Pathophysiology of COVID-19 Disease and Vaccine-Related Thrombotic Adverse Events: A Narrative Review

Post-Mortem Immunohistochemical Evidence of β2-Adrenergic Receptor Expression in the Adrenal Gland

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