Utility of detection test for heart-type fatty acid–binding protein in postmortem blood

Usefulness of Heart-Type Fatty Acid–Binding Protein Measurement in Postmortem Urine Specimens

“…Biochemical markers clinically reported to be elevated in AMI include HFABP, troponin T, troponin I, CKMB, N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), and sLOX-1, and there have been many reports of measuring these markers in postmortem samples 3–16 . However, the usefulness of these markers in postmortem specimens has been questioned because those present in the myocardium are nonspecifically elevated in the blood and pericardial fluid because of postmortem changes 3–16 . In contrast, HFABP and NT-proBNP, which have relatively small molecular weights in vivo, are excreted in urine, suggesting their usefulness in postmortem urine samples 3,20 .…”

“…Biochemical markers clinically reported to be elevated in AMI include HFABP, troponin T, troponin I, CKMB, N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), and sLOX-1, and there have been many reports of measuring these markers in postmortem samples. [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16] However, the usefulness of these markers in postmortem specimens has been questioned because those present in the myocardium are nonspecifically elevated in the blood and pericardial fluid because of postmortem changes. [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16] In contrast, HFABP and NT-proBNP, which have relatively small molecular weights in vivo, are excreted in urine, suggesting their usefulness in postmortem urine samples.…”

“…Several biochemical markers have been reported to be elevated in AMI and other myocardial injuries. Although there are many reports in the field of forensic medicine measuring these markers in blood and pericardial fluid, postmortem changes have been a major problem, and their usefulness has been questioned 3–16 . Among them, heart-type fatty acid–binding protein (HFABP) is a 15-kDa substance that plays an important role in the intracellular transport of free fatty acids and energy supply to the heart, and its concentration in the blood has been reported to increase in AMI and sepsis 17–23 …”

“…However, Matsumoto and Iwadate 15 suggested that HFABP in postmortem blood (cardiac and femoral) has low utility in the postmortem diagnosis. They evaluated the usefulness of a rapid HFABP test kit using cardiac blood from 72 forensic autopsy cases and compared it with HFABP concentrations.…”

“…Although there are many reports in the field of forensic medicine measuring these markers in blood and pericardial fluid, postmortem changes have been a major problem, and their usefulness has been questioned. [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16] Among them, heart-type fatty acid-binding protein (HFABP) is a 15-kDa substance that plays an important role in the intracellular transport of free fatty acids and energy supply to the heart, and its concentration in the blood has been reported to increase in AMI and sepsis. [17][18][19][20][21][22][23] Meng et al 6 reported the usefulness of postmortem femoral blood HFABP in animal models.…”