title: Histochemical detection of platelet esterase activity in the bone marrow postmortem: can megakaryocytes serve as indicators for time since death?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  α-Naphthyl acetate esterase (ANAE) is one of the few enzymes that are histochemically detectable on formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue. In bone marrow (BM) biopsies, ANAE staining highlights megakaryocytes. We investigated autopsy BM to determine whether ANAE staining intensity (SI) was associated with postmortem intervals (PMI, period between death and autopsy), and thus could allow the time of death of a patient to be deduced.
  
  
  METHODS
  ANAE-stained BM slides of 74 forensic and pathology autopsies as well as 22 biopsies were histologically evaluated and their SIs semiquantitatively graded.
  
  
  RESULTS
  ANAE-SIs did not differ between men and women and slightly decreased with age. Biopsies had significantly higher ANAE-SIs than pathology cases. In autopsies, ANAE-SIs were not associated with PMI, except for cases with PMI ≥7 days which were consistently ANAE-negative.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  ANAE-SIs in postmortem BM samples were independent of PMI. Thus, ANAE staining of BM megakaryocytes cannot serve as an indicator for time-since-death of a patient.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Pathology, RWTH Aachen University Hospital, Aachen, Germany. joboehm.email@yahoo.de
authors.forename: Joachim
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Boehm
authors.forename: Ulrike
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Schmidt
authors.forename: Juergen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Veeck
authors.forename: Michéle
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Porsche
authors.forename: Hans-Eckart
authors.initials: HE
authors.lastname: Schaefer
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001792:Blood Platelets / Q000201:enzymology*; D001853:Bone Marrow / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000473:pathology; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D049429:Forensic Pathology / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008533:Megakaryocytes / Q000201:enzymology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009283:Naphthol AS D Esterase / Q000378:metabolism*; D011180:Postmortem Changes; D012737:Sex Factors; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D009283:Naphthol AS D Esterase
keywords: AUTOPSY PATHOLOGY; BONE MARROW TREPHINES; HAEMATOPATHOLOGY; STAINING