Skeletal muscle proteins: a new approach to delimitate the time since death

Foditsch, Elena E.; Saenger, Alexandra M.; Monticelli, Fabio

doi:10.1007/s00414-015-1204-4

Cited by 21 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…Although protein turnover occurs constantly in living tissue, we detected distinct native bands of tropomyosin, desmin, and vinculin in all 0 dpm samples of the rat degradation model. The presence of distinct native protein bands of various proteins in at-death control samples of healthy rats and of different mammalian species including mice [ 31 ] and pigs [ 6 , 35 ] demonstrates that regular protein turn over in antemortem muscle cannot be detected by means of the applied Western blot technique and, thus, does not substantially interfere with protein analysis and the present PMI estimation method. This lack of detection is most likely due to a combination of various factors.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Does altered protein metabolism interfere with postmortem degradation analysis for PMI estimation?

et al. 2018

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An accurate estimation of the postmortem interval (PMI) is a central aspect in forensic routine. Recently, a novel approach based on the analysis of postmortem muscle protein degradation has been proposed. However, a number of questions remain to be answered until sensible application of this method to a broad variety of forensic cases is possible. To evaluate whether altered in vivo protein metabolism interferes with postmortem degradation patterns, we conducted a comparative study. We developed a standardized animal degradation model in rats, and collected additional muscle samples from animals recovering from muscle injury and from rats with developed disuse muscle atrophy after induced spinal cord injury. All samples were analyzed by SDS-PAGE and Western blot, labeling well-characterized muscle proteins. Tropomyosin was found to be stable throughout the investigated PMI and no alterations were detected in regenerating and atrophic muscles. In contrast, significant predictable postmortem changes occurred in desmin and vinculin protein band patterns. While no significant deviations from native patterns were detected in at-death samples of disuse muscle atrophy, interestingly, samples of rats recovering from muscle injury revealed additional desmin and vinculin degradation bands that did not occur in this form in any of the examined postmortem samples regardless of PMI. It remains to be investigated whether in vivo-altered metabolism influences postmortem degradation kinetics or if such muscle samples undergo postmortem degradation in a regular fashion.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Does altered protein metabolism interfere with postmortem degradation analysis for PMI estimation?

et al. 2018

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“…Multiple approaches and techniques have been used to determine wound vitality and time periods. In addition to proteins [11], transcripts have also been used as markers to analyze the earlier stages of vitality in recent decades [12][13][14]. It would seem to be more appropriate to assess mRNA, by RT-PCR, in early wound age estimations, because mRNA appears earlier than the protein it encodes [15].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An “up, no change, or down” system: Time-dependent expression of mRNAs in contused skeletal muscle of rats used for wound age estimation

Sun

Zhu

Dong

et al. 2017

Forensic Science International

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The combined use of multiple markers is considered a promising strategy in estimating the age of wounds. We sought to develop an "up, no change, or down" system and to explore how to combine and use various parameters. In total, 78 Sprague Dawley rats were divided randomly into a control group and contusion groups of 4-, 8-, 12-, 16-, 20-, 24-, 28-, 32-, 36-, 40-, 44-, and 48-h post-injury (n=6 per group). A contusion was produced in the right limb of the rats under diethyl ether anesthesia by a drop-ball technique; the animals were sacrificed at certain time points thereafter, using a lethal dose of pentobarbital. Levels of PUM2, TAB2, GJC1, and CHRNA1 mRNAs were detected in contused muscle using real-time PCR. An up, no change, or down system was developed with the relative quantities of the four mRNAs recorded as black, dark gray, or light gray boxes, representing up-, no change, or down-regulation of the gene of interest during wound repair. The four transcripts were combined and used as a marker cluster for color model analysis of each contusion group. Levels of PUM2, TAB2, and GJC1 mRNAs decreased, whereas that of CHRNA1 increased in wound repair (P<0.05). The up, no change, or down system was adequate to distinguish most time groups with the color model. Thus, the proposed up, no change, or down system provide the means to determine the minimal periods of early wounds.

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“…). Previous studies have shown that skeletal muscle proteins, including titin, nebulin, desmin, cardiac specific forms of troponin T, sarcoplasmic/endoplasmic reticulum ATPase 1, and calpain, display distinct patterns at certain PMIs . Although MALDI IMS is a powerful tool for the analysis of many proteins or peptides, it is still difficult to identify larger molecules with molecular weights above 4–5 kDa, such as the skeletal muscle proteins detailed above .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Muscle is the most abundant tissue in the human body and is easily accessible while being relatively well protected by the skin . Its function and structure are well understood, including its developmental, sex‐specific, and age‐dependent characteristics . Depending on the specific cause of death, there are several skeletal muscles that can be used for analysis .…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Its function and structure are well understood, including its developmental, sex‐specific, and age‐dependent characteristics . Depending on the specific cause of death, there are several skeletal muscles that can be used for analysis . Compared with internal organs and nervous tissue, skeletal muscle has a greater delay in postmortem changes, but it still decomposes faster than cartilage and bone do .…”

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confidence: 99%

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Application of MALDI‐TOF MS for Estimating the Postmortem Interval in Rat Muscle Samples

Deng

et al. 2017

Journal of Forensic Sciences

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Estimating the postmortem interval (PMI) is very important in the forensic sciences. Although many approaches have been used for estimating the PMI, accurate PMI calculations are still difficult. In this study, four Sprague Dawley (SD) rats were sacrificed by suffocation, and muscle samples were collected by dissection at various time intervals (0, 48, 96, and 144 h) after death. All samples were probed using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOFMS) to obtain molecular images and data for principal component analysis (PCA). The results showed that the peaks at m/z 1511, 1543, 1564, 1586 clearly decreased in intensity from 0 to 144 h postmortem and that the time groups were separated from each other on the PCA score plot. The prediction model showed high recognition capability (95.93%) and cross-validation (83.72%). Our work suggests that MALDI-TOF MS can be used to determine the PMI.

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Skeletal muscle proteins: a new approach to delimitate the time since death

Cited by 21 publications

References 22 publications

Does altered protein metabolism interfere with postmortem degradation analysis for PMI estimation?

Does altered protein metabolism interfere with postmortem degradation analysis for PMI estimation?

An “up, no change, or down” system: Time-dependent expression of mRNAs in contused skeletal muscle of rats used for wound age estimation

Application of MALDI‐TOF MS for Estimating the Postmortem Interval in Rat Muscle Samples

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