title: Evaluation of latex agglutination tests for fibrin-fibrinogen degradation products in the forensic identification of menstrual blood.
abstract: The identification of menstrual blood is important when discriminating menstruation from vaginal trauma in sexual assault cases. The aim of this study was to evaluate two fibrin-fibrinogen degradation product (FDP)-latex agglutination test kits, FDPL® Test (FDP-L) and FDP Plasma "RD" (FDP-P), for their ability to forensically identify menstrual blood. Sensitivity and specificity of the two kits were compared for menstrual blood and various body fluids, and the sensitivity of the FDP-latex agglutination test kit was also compared with that of an immunochromatographic test for human hemoglobin. The robustness of the FDP-latex agglutination test was compared with that of gene expression analysis of menstrual blood specific markers. The FDP-L kit was more sensitive than the FDP-P kit, but it cross-reacted with peripheral bloodstains from healthy volunteers. The FDP-P kit was specific for menstrual blood, with the exception of postmortem blood samples, and was not affected by other body fluids. In an FDP-negative menstrual blood sample, the sensitivity of human hemoglobin detection was lower than for FDP-positive samples and peripheral blood stains, suggesting that determination of human hemoglobin could be useful in interpreting negative results in the FDP-latex agglutination test. In menstrual blood samples incubated in wet conditions, FDP was found to be a robust marker in the identification of menstrual blood compared with mRNA markers. FDP-P testing was shown to be a suitable and highly efficient rapid screening test for the laboratory identification of menstrual blood.
authors.affiliation: National Research Institute of Police Science, 6-3-1, Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, Chiba 277-0882, Japan. tomoko@nrips.go.jp
authors.forename: Tomoko
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Akutsu
authors.forename: Ken
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Watanabe
authors.forename: Hisako
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Motani
authors.forename: Hirotaro
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Iwase
authors.forename: Koichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sakurada
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D001801:Blood Stains; D002582:Cervix Mucus / Q000737:chemistry; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D005338:Fibrin Fibrinogen Degradation Products / Q000032:analysis*; D049429:Forensic Pathology; D015870:Gene Expression; D006454:Hemoglobins / Q000032:analysis / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007841:Latex Fixation Tests; D008297:Male; D053507:Matrix Metalloproteinase 11 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D020783:Matrix Metalloproteinase 7 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D008598:Menstruation; D008875:Middle Aged; D009297:Nasal Mucosa / Q000378:metabolism; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D012463:Saliva / Q000737:chemistry; D012661:Semen / Q000737:chemistry; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013542:Sweat / Q000737:chemistry; D014556:Urine / Q000737:chemistry; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D005338:Fibrin Fibrinogen Degradation Products; D006454:Hemoglobins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D053507:Matrix Metalloproteinase 11; D020783:Matrix Metalloproteinase 7