Key result
Mechanical asphyxia alters 78 cardiac proteins, identifying ALKBH5, NAA10, and CLPB as diagnostic biomarkers.
Why the study?
Mechanical asphyxia presents diagnostic challenges in forensic medicine due to nonspecific autopsy signs, and traditional methods may overlook novel cardiac biomarkers.
Does 4D-DIA proteomic profiling identify reliable cardiac diagnostic biomarkers to distinguish mechanical asphyxia (strangulation and suffocation) from non-asphyxial causes of death?
Does 4D-DIA proteomic profiling identify reliable cardiac diagnostic biomarkers to distinguish mechanical asphyxia (strangulation and suffocation) from non-asphyxial causes of death?
4D-DIA proteomics of cardiac tissue identified and validated ALKBH5, NAA10, and CLPB as potential forensic biomarkers to aid in the postmortem diagnosis of mechanical asphyxia.
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
ALKBH5, NAA10, and CLPB merit investigation as asphyxia biomarkers; animal data leave open human forensic validation before any diagnostic use.
Mechanical asphyxia presents a challenging diagnostic issue in forensic medicine due to its often covert nature, and the signs visible during an autopsy are usually not specific. Despite some progress in understanding hypoxia's effects, traditional methods' inherent limitations might overlook new biomarkers in mechanical asphyxia. This study employed 4D-DIA proteomics to explore the protein expression profiles of cardiac samples under conditions of mechanical asphyxia. Proteomic analysis identified 271 and 371 differentially expressed proteins in the strangulation and suffocation groups, respectively, compared to the control group. Seventy-eight differentially expressed proteins were identified across different mechanical asphyxia groups compared to the control group. GO and KEGG analysis showed enrichment in pathways, including complement and coagulation cascades, cAMP and cGMP-PKG signaling pathways, inflammatory mediator regulation of TRP channels, and phagosomes. Through stringent selection based on protein interactions, ALKBH5, NAA10, and CLPB were identified as potential diagnostic biomarkers. ALKBH5 showed increased expression in asphyxia models, while NAA10 and CLPB were downregulated; these biomarker changes were validated in both animal models and human cardiac samples. This study highlights the potential of proteomics in discovering reliable biomarkers, which can enhance the specificity of mechanical asphyxia diagnosis in forensic practice, provide new insights into the pathophysiological mechanisms of mechanical asphyxia, and offer new perspectives for diagnosing mechanical asphyxia.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Huang et al. (2024) studied Mechanical asphyxia (strangulation and suffocation) (n=33). Mechanical asphyxia (strangulation or suffocation) vs. Decapitation in rats; immediate death from high falls in humans was evaluated on Differentially expressed cardiac proteins (fold change > 1.2 or < 0.833) and candidate biomarker expression (ALKBH5, NAA10, CLPB) (p=<0.05). 4D-DIA proteomics identified 78 shared differentially expressed cardiac proteins in mechanical asphyxia, with ALKBH5 upregulated and NAA10 and CLPB downregulated in rat and human hearts.
Synapse has enriched 10 related papers. Consider them for comparative context: