ER stress–related protein, CHOP, may serve as a biomarker of mechanical asphyxia: a primary study

The precise authentication of death from mechanical asphyxia (DMA) has been a complex problem in forensic medicine. Besides the traditional methods that concern the superficial characterization of the body, researchers are now paying more attention to the biomarkers that may help the identification...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of legal medicine 2022-07, Vol.136 (4), p.1091-1104
Main Authors: Hu, Yikai, Tian, Lu, Ma, Kaijun, Han, Liujun, Li, Wencan, Hu, Luyuyan, Fei, Geng, Zhang, Tianye, Yu, Delun, Xu, Luyi, Wang, Feng, Xiao, Bi, Chen, Long
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Apoptosis
Asphyxia
Authentication
Biomarkers
Endoplasmic reticulum
Forensic Medicine
Forensic pathology
Hypoxia
Medical Law
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Mitochondria
Original Article
Proteins
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The precise authentication of death from mechanical asphyxia (DMA) has been a complex problem in forensic medicine. Besides the traditional methods that concern the superficial characterization of the body, researchers are now paying more attention to the biomarkers that may help the identification of DMA. It has been reported that the extremely hypoxic environment created by DMA can cause the specific expression of mitochondria-related protein, which may sever as the biomarkers of DMA authentication. Since endoplasmic reticulum stress (ER stress) has been found to be related to the dysfunction of mitochondria, it is promising to look for the biomarkers of DMA among ER stress–related proteins. In this article, animal and cell experiments were conducted to examine how ER-mitochondria interaction may be influenced in the hypoxic condition caused by DMA primarily. Human samples were then used to verify the possible biomarkers of DMA. We found that ER stress–related protein CHOP was significantly up-regulated within a short-term postmortem interval (PMI) in brain tissue of DMA samples, which may interact with a series of ER stress– and mitochondria-related protein, leading to the apoptosis of the cells. It was also verified in human samples that the expression level of CHOP can sever as a potential biomarker of DMA within a specific PMI.
ISSN:0937-9827
1437-1596
DOI:10.1007/s00414-021-02770-1