title: Intranuclear ubiquitin immunoreactivity of the pigmented neurons of the substantia nigra in fatal acute mechanical asphyxiation and drowning.
abstract: To evaluate the significance of immunohistochemical staining of ubiquitin (heat shock protein) in the midbrain for the medico-legal diagnosis of fatal asphyxiation and drowning, we investigated forensic autopsy cases of fatal mechanical asphyxia (n = 18), manual/ligature strangulation (n = 9), hanging (n = 4), aspiration/choking (n = 5) and drowning (n = 16). These were compared to control groups (n = 30) consisting of fatalities from brainstem injury (n = 12) and acute myocardial infarction (n = 18). Ubiquitin was clearly demonstrated in the nuclei of pigmented substantia nigra neurons, showing two intranuclear staining patterns: a type of inclusion (possibly Marinesco bodies) and a diffuse staining. The diffuse staining was significantly more frequently observed in cases of drowning. The percentage of total ubiquitin positive neurons was frequently higher in strangulation (5.1-28.4%, mean 17.0%), aspiration/choking (5.3-32.0%, mean 17.6%) and drowning (7.0-34.1%, mean 19.8%), but relatively low in hanging (5.1-12.7%, mean 8.6%), brainstem injury (0-10.4%, mean 5.0%) and acute myocardial infarction (1.5-16.9%, mean 8.3%). These observations suggest that intranuclear ubiquitin immunoreactivity of the pigmented substantia nigra neurons in the midbrain was induced by a fatal severe stress on the central nervous system in asphyxiation and drowning.
authors.affiliation: Department of Legal Medicine, Osaka City University Medical School, Osaka, Japan.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Quan
authors.forename: B L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ishida
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Oritani
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Taniguchi
authors.forename: M Q
authors.initials: MQ
authors.lastname: Fujita
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Maeda
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001237:Asphyxia / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000401:mortality; D001344:Autopsy; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000378:metabolism; D004332:Drowning / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000401:mortality; D005260:Female; D005554:Forensic Medicine; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism*; D013378:Substantia Nigra / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000503:physiopathology; D025801:Ubiquitin / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D025801:Ubiquitin