title: Quantitative analysis of ubiquitin-immunoreactivity in the midbrain periaqueductal gray matter with regard to the causes of death in forensic autopsy.
abstract: The aim of the present study was to examine Ub-immunoreactivity in the midbrain periaqueductal gray matter (PGM), which is involved in pain processing and modulation, in forensic autopsy cases (n=273) in relation to the causes of death: acute deaths from blunt injuries (n=75), sharp weapon injuries (n=36), fatal asphyxiation (n=22), drownings (n=16: freshwater, n=9; saltwater, n=7), fire fatalities (n=64), poisoning (n=12), hyperthermia (n=5), hypothermia (n=5), delayed deaths from blunt head injury (n=8), acute cardiac deaths (n=24), and acute cerebrovascular strokes (n=6). The Ub-immunoreactivity was clearly observed in the nuclei of the PGM neurons, showing no postmortem interference or age-dependency. A higher value was observed in blunt injuries, fire fatalities and also in saltwater drowning, hyperthermia and delayed head injury deaths. These findings suggest a complicated mechanism for the ubiquitination of PGM neurons, to which multiple factors including the intensity and duration of pains possibly under alert consciousness, traumatic and metabolic neurodegeneration may contribute.
authors.affiliation: Department of Legal Medicine, Osaka City University Medical School, Asahi-machi 1-4-3, Abeno, 545-8585 Osaka, Japan. legalmed@med.osaka-cu.ac.jp
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Quan
authors.forename: Takaki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ishikawa
authors.forename: Tomomi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Michiue
authors.forename: Dong-Ri
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Dong
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Bao-Li
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Hitoshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Maeda
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001237:Asphyxia / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D016757:Death, Sudden, Cardiac / Q000473:pathology; D004332:Drowning / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D005334:Fever / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D005390:Fires; D049429:Forensic Pathology; D006801:Humans; D007035:Hypothermia / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010487:Periaqueductal Gray / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology*; D011041:Poisoning / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D020521:Stroke / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D025801:Ubiquitin / Q000378:metabolism*; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D025801:Ubiquitin