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Article

Forensic Diagnosis of Freshwater or Saltwater Drowning Using the Marker Aquaporin 5: An Immunohistochemical Study

by
Paolo Frisoni
1,
Luca Diani
2,
Stefania De Simone
3,
Maria Antonella Bosco
3,
Luigi Cipolloni
3,* and
Margherita Neri
4
1
Unit of Legal Medicine, Azienda USL di Ferrara, Via Arturo Cassoli 30, 44121 Ferrara, Italy
2
Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, Institute of Legal Medicine, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Via del Pozzo 71, 41124 Modena, Italy
3
Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Section of Legal Medicine, University of Foggia, 71122 Foggia, Italy
4
Department of Medical Sciences, Section of Legal Medicine University of Ferrara, Via Fossato di Mortara 70, 44121 Ferrara, Italy
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Medicina 2022, 58(10), 1458; https://doi.org/10.3390/medicina58101458
Submission received: 30 August 2022 / Revised: 5 October 2022 / Accepted: 13 October 2022 / Published: 15 October 2022
(This article belongs to the Section Hematology and Immunology)
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Abstract

Background and Objectives: Aquaporins are a family of water channel proteins. In this study, the renal and intrapulmonary expression of aquaporin-5 (AQP5) was examined in forensic autopsy cases to evaluate it as a drowning marker and to differentiate between freshwater drowning and saltwater drowning. Materials and Methods: Cases were classified into three groups: freshwater drowning (FWD), saltwater drowning (SWD), and controls (CTR). Samples were obtained from forensic autopsies at less than 72 h postmortem (15 FWD cases, 15 SWD cases, and 17 other cases) and were subjected to histological and immunohistochemical investigations. Results: In FWD group, intrapulmonary AQP5 expression was significantly suppressed compared with SWD and CTR; there was no significant difference in AQP5 expression among the other two groups. The same differences in expression were also observed in the kidney. Conclusions: These observations suggest that AQP5 expression in alveolar cells was suppressed by hypotonic water to prevent hemodilution. Moreover, it is possible to hypothesize that in the kidney, with the appearance of hypo-osmotic plasma, AQP5 is hypo-expressed, as a vital reaction, to regulate the renal reabsorption of water. In conclusion, the analysis of renal and intrapulmonary AQP5 expression would be forensically useful for differentiation between FWD and SWD, or between FWD and death due to other causes.
Keywords: aquaporin-5; drowning; freshwater; seawater; forensic investigation; immunohistochemistry aquaporin-5; drowning; freshwater; seawater; forensic investigation; immunohistochemistry

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MDPI and ACS Style

Frisoni, P.; Diani, L.; De Simone, S.; Bosco, M.A.; Cipolloni, L.; Neri, M. Forensic Diagnosis of Freshwater or Saltwater Drowning Using the Marker Aquaporin 5: An Immunohistochemical Study. Medicina 2022, 58, 1458. https://doi.org/10.3390/medicina58101458

AMA Style

Frisoni P, Diani L, De Simone S, Bosco MA, Cipolloni L, Neri M. Forensic Diagnosis of Freshwater or Saltwater Drowning Using the Marker Aquaporin 5: An Immunohistochemical Study. Medicina. 2022; 58(10):1458. https://doi.org/10.3390/medicina58101458

Chicago/Turabian Style

Frisoni, Paolo, Luca Diani, Stefania De Simone, Maria Antonella Bosco, Luigi Cipolloni, and Margherita Neri. 2022. "Forensic Diagnosis of Freshwater or Saltwater Drowning Using the Marker Aquaporin 5: An Immunohistochemical Study" Medicina 58, no. 10: 1458. https://doi.org/10.3390/medicina58101458

APA Style

Frisoni, P., Diani, L., De Simone, S., Bosco, M. A., Cipolloni, L., & Neri, M. (2022). Forensic Diagnosis of Freshwater or Saltwater Drowning Using the Marker Aquaporin 5: An Immunohistochemical Study. Medicina, 58(10), 1458. https://doi.org/10.3390/medicina58101458

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