Postmortem serum protein S100B levels with regard to the cause of death involving brain damage in medicolegal autopsy cases.
The protein S100 is an acidic calcium-binding protein, and the subunit S100B is the most abundantly found in the brain. The aim of the present study was a comprehensive analysis of serum S100B levels in medicolegal autopsy cases (within 48 h postmortem, n = 283) including victims with head and non-head injuries and also non-injury fatalities with regard to the cause of death involving brain damage. The serum level was usually higher in the subclavian vein than in the right heart and external iliac vein, and the lowest in the left heart blood, showing no significant postmortem influence. The serum level in the right heart and subclavian vein was markedly higher for acute deaths from head injury and asphyxiation due to neck compression (strangulation and hanging), and moderately and mildly elevated for other blunt and sharp instrument injury cases, respectively. For head injury, the serum levels were lower for subacute deaths than for acute deaths. These observations suggest that the elevation of serum S100B may mainly be caused by leakage following massive brain damage due to injury and cerebral hypoxia/ischemia, and in part by systemic hypoxic/traumatic tissue damage, depending on the survival time.
Li
Dong-Ri
DR
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
Zhu
Bao-Li
BL
Ishikawa
Takaki
T
Zhao
Dong
D
Michiue
Tomomi
T
Maeda
Hitoshi
H
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001237:Asphyxia / Q000097:blood; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000097:blood*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003331:Coronary Vessels / Q000378:metabolism; D004332:Drowning / Q000097:blood; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D005390:Fires; D049429:Forensic Pathology; D006801:Humans; D002534:Hypoxia, Brain / Q000097:blood*; D007084:Iliac Vein / Q000378:metabolism; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009414:Nerve Growth Factors / Q000097:blood*; D064568:S100 Calcium Binding Protein beta Subunit; D009418:S100 Proteins / Q000097:blood*; D013350:Subclavian Vein / Q000378:metabolism; D014949:Wounds, Nonpenetrating / Q000097:blood; D014950:Wounds, Penetrating / Q000097:blood
D009414:Nerve Growth Factors; D064568:S100 Calcium Binding Protein beta Subunit; D009418:S100 Proteins; C579160:S100B protein, human