title: A time course study demonstrating mRNA, microRNA, 18S rRNA, and U6 snRNA changes to estimate PMI in deceased rat's spleen.
abstract: Determining the postmortem interval (PMI) is important in criminal, civil, and forensic cases. We examined the feasibility of using the transcript abundances of mRNAs, 18S rRNA, U6 snRNA, and microRNAs as a means to estimate the PMI. We removed spleen tissues from rats at different PMIs under 4°C or 25°C and examined gene transcript abundances in these samples by RT-qPCR. Using the algorithm geNorm, we found that microRNAs to be appropriate control markers because they were less affected by PMI and temperature. We also characterized relationships between observed PMI and the transcript levels of the above-mentioned RNAs. GAPDH1 and ACTB1 fluctuated slightly like cubic curves, while GAPDH2 and ACTB2 decreased rapidly. 18S rRNA transcript level exhibited a parabolic-like trend at 25°C and exponential growth at 4°C, while U6 transcript level exhibited exponential decay at 25°C and a parabolic-like trend at 4°C. Following validation, we conclude that GAPDH2, ACTB2, and 18S rRNA are suitable makers in the accurate determination of PMI.
authors.affiliation: Department of Forensic Medicine, Shanghai Medical School of Fudan University, 200032, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Ye-hui
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Lv
authors.forename: Kai-jun
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.forename: Heng
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Meng
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: He
authors.forename: Ping
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Yi-wen
authors.initials: YW
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.forename: Nan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.forename: Duan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.forename: Long
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000199:Actins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005819:Genetic Markers; D024581:Glyceraldehyde-3-Phosphate Dehydrogenase (Phosphorylating) / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000378:metabolism*; D011180:Postmortem Changes; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism*; D012337:RNA, Ribosomal, 18S / Q000378:metabolism*; D012342:RNA, Small Nuclear / Q000378:metabolism*; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D013154:Spleen / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D000199:Actins; D005819:Genetic Markers; D035683:MicroRNAs; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D012337:RNA, Ribosomal, 18S; D012342:RNA, Small Nuclear; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins; C405486:U6 small nuclear RNA; C546243:GAPDH2 protein, mouse; D024581:Glyceraldehyde-3-Phosphate Dehydrogenase (Phosphorylating); C465224:TDH1 protein, S cerevisiae
keywords: RNA; forensic pathology; forensic science; postmortem interval; reverse transcription quantitative real-time PCR; transcript abundance