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Advances in Molecular Forensic Pathology and Toxicology: An Update

A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Biology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 December 2024 | Viewed by 394

Special Issue Editor

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In recent years, the role of molecular markers had a significant increase in the forensic field. Biochemical markers are analyzed in blood, urine, cerebrospinal fluid, or other biological samples. They may provide information about the cause of death and the post-mortem interval (PMI). The forensic molecular pathology procedure can be integrated into routine work, to improve and to reinforce morphological evidence. It can be applied in medical sciences to investigate the pathophysiology of diseases and trauma that led to death. For example, the immunohistochemical characteristics of vitality in hanging and the identification of the most significant vitality markers on ligature marks could be useful to determine whether the hanging was committed as suicide or as a simulated hanging.

For tissue identification in a forensic context, it is possible to employ many molecular markers, such as mRNA, miRNA, DNA methylation and microbial markers. In the context of molecular pathology, the subjects include the following: time, date, cause, manner, and place of death. The objective of this Special Issue is to collect original and review articles to provide at forensic pathologist several markers as elements of scientific evidence for forensic research and justice.

Dr. Angelo Montana
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • biomarkers
  • immunohistochemistry
  • histopathology
  • forensic pathology
  • forensic toxicology
  • forensic biomarkers
  • toxicological biomarkers
  • neuropathology
  • mRNA
  • post-mortem interval
  • cerebral damage
  • in vitro, in vivo, and in silico models
  • hypoxic–ischemic brain injury
  • pregnancy biomarkers
  • vitality

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Review

23 pages, 801 KiB  
Review
microRNAs as New Biomolecular Markers to Estimate Time Since Death: A Systematic Review
by Vincenzo Cianci, Cristina Mondello, Daniela Sapienza, Maria Cristina Guerrera, Alessio Cianci, Annalisa Cracò, Francesco Luppino, Vittorio Gioffrè, Patrizia Gualniera, Alessio Asmundo and Antonino Germanà
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(17), 9207; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25179207 (registering DOI) - 24 Aug 2024
Viewed by 250
Abstract
Estimating the post-mortem interval is still one of the most complex challenges in forensics. In fact, the main tools currently used are burdened by numerous limitations, which sometimes allow the time of death to be placed only within too large time intervals. In [...] Read more.
Estimating the post-mortem interval is still one of the most complex challenges in forensics. In fact, the main tools currently used are burdened by numerous limitations, which sometimes allow the time of death to be placed only within too large time intervals. In recent years, researchers have tried to identify new tools to try to narrow down the interval within which to place the time of death; among these, the analysis of microRNAs seems to be promising. An evidence-based systematic review of the literature has been conducted to evaluate the state of the art of knowledge, focusing on the potential correlation between miRNA degradation and PMI estimation. The research has been performed using the electronic databases PubMed, Scopus, and WOS. The results allowed us to highlight the usefulness of miRNAs both as markers for PMI estimation and for normalization, especially due to their stability. In fact, some miRNAs remain particularly stable for long periods and in different tissues, while others degrade faster. Furthermore, there are numerous factors capable of influencing the behavior of these molecules, among which the type of tissue, the cause of death, and the circadian rhythm appear to be the most relevant. Despite the promising results of the few articles present in the literature, because of the numerous limitations they are burdened by, further research is still necessary to achieve more solid and shareable results. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Molecular Forensic Pathology and Toxicology: An Update)
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