Ubiquitin immunoreactivity in the midbrain as a marker of stress to motor nervous systems in fatal injury.
Previous studies showed an increase in the ubiquitin (Ub)-immunoreactive structures in the midbrain in acute deaths from asphyxiation and in fires in adult subjects. The present study examined the Ub-immunoreactivity in the midbrain as a marker of stress to motor nervous systems in fatal injury cases (over 35 years of age, n=140: blunt injuries, n=82; sharp injuries, n=58), compared with that in control groups (n=61) including death by strangulation, acute cardiac and cerebrovascular diseases. The intranuclear Ub-immunopositive inclusion of the pigmented dopaminergic neurons of the substantia nigra (inclusion Ub-index) and the granular 'dot-like' Ub-immunoreactivity area ('dot-like' Ub-area) in the crus cerebri were analyzed. In blunt injuries, those markers were high in abdomen and back injuries and low in head and chest injuries. The inclusion Ub-index was higher in the crush/pressure injury group than in those with injuries due to impact traffic accidents and falls. 'Dot-like' Ub-area was also low in falls. In sharp injury cases, cardiac injury with hemopericardium showed a higher inclusion Ub-index. These findings suggested that the stress to the motor nervous system may be very intense in crush/pressure injury and hemopericardium than in impact injury and fatal hemorrhages, respectively, and in abdomen and back injuries than in head and chest injuries.
Quan
Li
L
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
Ishikawa
Takaki
T
Michiue
Tomomi
T
Li
Dong-Ri
DR
Zhao
Dong
D
Zhu
Bao-Li
BL
Maeda
Hitoshi
H
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D049429:Forensic Pathology; D006801:Humans; D015601:Injury Severity Score; D008297:Male; D008636:Mesencephalon / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009046:Motor Neurons / Q000378:metabolism*; D013312:Stress, Physiological / Q000378:metabolism*; D025801:Ubiquitin / Q000378:metabolism*; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology
D015415:Biomarkers; D025801:Ubiquitin