Application of protein markers to determine post-mortem interval based on muscle degradation of mice

Determining the time of death of human remains are vital in medico-legal investigations. In forensic sampling, biological samples can be highly minuscule and degradable hence biological sampling can be very difficult to determine the post-mortem interval (PMI). Although there are many difficulties to achieve an accurate time point since death due to external factors such as circumstances of death, time and temperature, this study hypothesised by applying protein biomarkers to observe the pattern of muscle degradation using mice as an animal model. This study aimed to explore various PMI indicators and discuss future possibilities of using muscle tissues to establish a chronological time frame based on the rate of muscle degradation via western blot through several parameters. This is done by applying protein markers such as tropomyosin, cardiac troponin T (cTnT) and Myosin Heavy Chain 11 (MHC11) as PMI determinants for temperate climate in Malaysia. A standard representation of protein markers was established at 16oC, 26oC and 30oC at selected time points and given the result, protein markers were tried via burial grounds and submersion in varying water sources to determine the reliability to determine PMI under non-controlled condition. This study found that cTnT and MHC11 showed similar breakdown pattern in both controlled and non-controlled condition, while tropomyosin required further investigation. A non-parametric test Mann Whitney and Kruskal Wallis were implemented and showed no significant differences meaning protein markers under controlled and non-controlled condition originated from the same source and that different protein markers showed unique patterns between each other. Comparison between the controlled and non-controlled condition showed similar breakdown patterns, where decomposition changes are largely influenced by temperature and humidity. Findings for this preliminary study opened many possibilities of protein markers as PMI indicators in forensic science for identifying PMI based on muscle degradation patterns over time.

Text FPSK(m) 2023 23 - Full Text.pdf Available under License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives. Download (13MB) Text FPSK(m) 2023 23.pdf Restricted to Repository staff only Available under License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives. Download (15MB) Official URL or Download Paper: https://zenodo.org/doi/10.5281/zenodo.16020158

Actions (login required)

View Item