Bone proteomic studies using animal proxies and skeletonized human remains have delivered encouraging results in the search for potential biomarkers for precise and accurate postmortem interval (PMI) and the age-at-death (AAD) estimation in medico-legal investigations. The development of forensic proteomics for PMI and AAD estimation is in critical need of research on human remains throughout decomposition, as currently the effects of both inter-individual biological differences and taphonomic alteration on the survival of human bone protein profiles are unclear. This study investigated the human bone proteome in four human body donors studied throughout decomposition outdoors. The effects of ageing phenomena (in vivo and post-mortem) and intrinsic and extrinsic variables on the variety and abundancy of the bone proteome were assessed. Results indicate that taphonomic and biological variables play a significant role in the survival of proteins in bone. Our findings suggest that inter-individual and inter-skeletal differences in bone mineral density (BMD) are important variables affecting the survival of proteins. Specific proteins survive better within the mineral matrix due to their mineralbinding properties. The mineral matrix likely also protects these proteins by restricting the movement of decomposer microbes. New potential biomarkers for PMI estimation and AAD estimation were identified. Future development of forensic bone proteomics should include standard measurement of BMD and target a combination of different biomarkers.
Methods currently available to estimate the post-mortem submerged interval (PMSI) of cadavers in water suffer from poor accuracy, being mostly based on morphological examination of the remains. Proteins present within bones have recently attracted more attention from researchers interested in the estimation of the post-mortem interval (PMI) in terrestrial environments. Despite the great potential of proteomic methods for PMI estimation, their application to aquatic environments has not yet been explored. In this study, we examined whether four different types of aquatic environment affected the proteome of mice bones with increasing PMSIs. Results showed that increasing PMSIs can influence the protein abundances more than the different types of water. In particular, the abundance of the muscle protein fructose-bisphophate aldolase A constantly decreased with increasing PMSIs. Additionally, the protein peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase showed a significant decrease between controls and aquatic environments. Furthermore, coagulation factor VII was deamidated only in submerged samples and not in terrestrial controls. Finally, fetuin-A was significantly more deamidated in pond water compared to the other aquatic environments. Overall, this study identified novel potential biomarker candidates that would be useful for the estimation of the PMSI and for the characterization of the type of water involved in criminal investigations.
Bone proteomics studies using animal proxies and skeletonized human remains have delivered encouraging results in the search for potential biomarkers for precise and accurate post-mortem interval (PMI) and the age-at-death (AAD) estimation in medico-legal investigations. At present, however, the effects of inter-individual biological differences and taphonomic alteration on recovered human bone protein profiles are not well understood. This study investigated the human bone proteome in four human body donors studied throughout decomposition outdoors. The effects of ageing phenomena (in vivo and post-mortem), and intrinsic and extrinsic variables on the variety and abundancy of the bone proteome were assessed. Results identified a new potential biomarker for PMI estimation, as well as three potential biomarkers for AAD estimation. The results also suggest that bone mineral density (BMD) may be an important variable affecting the survival and extraction of proteins.
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