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Review
. 2022 Jun 17;12(6):1490.
doi: 10.3390/diagnostics12061490.

Systematic Review on Post-Mortem Protein Alterations: Analysis of Experimental Models and Evaluation of Potential Biomarkers of Time of Death

Matteo Antonio Sacco  1 , Fabrizio Cordasco  1 , Carmen Scalise  1 , Pietrantonio Ricci  1 , Isabella Aquila  1
Affiliations
Review

Systematic Review on Post-Mortem Protein Alterations: Analysis of Experimental Models and Evaluation of Potential Biomarkers of Time of Death

Matteo Antonio Sacco et al. Diagnostics (Basel). .

Abstract

Estimating the post-mortem interval (PMI) is a very complex issue due to numerous variables that may affect the calculation. Several authors have investigated the quantitative and qualitative variations of protein expression on post-mortem biological samples in certain time intervals, both in animals and in humans. However, the literature data are very numerous and often inhomogeneous, with different models, tissues and proteins evaluated, such that the practical application of these methods is limited to date. The aim of this paper was to offer an organic view of the state of the art about post-mortem protein alterations for the calculation of PMI through the analysis of the various experimental models proposed. The purpose was to investigate the validity of some proteins as "molecular clocks" candidates, focusing on the evidence obtained in the early, intermediate and late post-mortem interval. This study demonstrates how the study of post-mortem protein alterations may be useful for estimating the PMI, although there are still technical limits, especially in the experimental models performed on humans. We suggest a protocol to homogenize the study of future experimental models, with a view to the next concrete application of these methods also at the crime scene.

Keywords: forensic pathology; post-mortem interval; proteins; time of death.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Algorithm followed for the selection of papers on PubMed and SCOPUS databases.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Overall frequency of tissue analysis examined in the studies selected for review (%).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Overall percentage of studies that evaluated early, intermediate and late PMI.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Overall frequency of analysis of the methodologies examined in the studies selected for the review (N=number of studies).
Figure 5
Figure 5
Markers that showed more evidence in the studies selected for review.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Operating protocol proposed in early PMI (analysis of biological fluids), intermediate PMI (muscle analysis) and late PMI (bone analysis).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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