Forensic Body Fluid Identification by Analysis of Multiple RNA Markers Using NanoString Technology.
RNA analysis has become a reliable method of body fluid identification for forensic use. Previously, we developed a combination of four multiplex quantitative PCR (qRT-PCR) probes to discriminate four different body fluids (blood, semen, saliva, and vaginal secretion). While those makers successfully identified most body fluid samples, there were some cases of false positive and negative identification. To improve the accuracy of the identification further, we tried to use multiple markers per body fluid and adopted the NanoString nCounter system instead of a multiplex qRT-PCR system. After measuring tens of RNA markers, we evaluated the accuracy of each marker for body fluid identification. For body fluids, such as blood and semen, each body fluid-specific marker was accurate enough for perfect identification. However, for saliva and vaginal secretion, no single marker was perfect. Thus, we designed a logistic regression model with multiple markers for saliva and vaginal secretion and achieved almost perfect identification. In conclusion, the NanoString nCounter is an efficient platform for measuring multiple RNA markers per body fluid and will be useful for forensic RNA analysis.
Medical Genomics Research Center, KRIBB, Daejeon 305-806, Korea. ; Department of Functional Genomics, University of Science of Technology, Daejeon 305-350, Korea.
Jong-Lyul
JL
Park
Medical Genomics Research Center, KRIBB, Daejeon 305-806, Korea. ; Department of Functional Genomics, University of Science of Technology, Daejeon 305-350, Korea.
Seong-Min
SM
Park
Medical Genomics Research Center, KRIBB, Daejeon 305-806, Korea.
Jeong-Hwan
JH
Kim
DNA orensic Division, Supreme Prosecutor's Office, Seoul 137-730, Korea.
Han-Chul
HC
Lee
DNA orensic Division, Supreme Prosecutor's Office, Seoul 137-730, Korea.
Seung-Hwan
SH
Lee
DNA orensic Division, Supreme Prosecutor's Office, Seoul 137-730, Korea.
Kwang-Man
KM
Woo
Medical Genomics Research Center, KRIBB, Daejeon 305-806, Korea. ; Department of Functional Genomics, University of Science of Technology, Daejeon 305-350, Korea.
Seon-Young
SY
Kim
RNA; body fluids; forensic