|
1
|
d’Aquino I, Piegari G, Miletti G, Sannino E, Costanza D, Meomartino L, Fico R, Riccio L, Vaccaro E, De Biase D, Paciello O. Morphometrical and Immunohistochemical Evaluation of Kidney as an Indirect Parameter to Estimate Age in Puppies in Veterinary Forensic Pathology. Animals (Basel) 2023; 13:2665. [PMID: 37627455 PMCID: PMC10451229 DOI: 10.3390/ani13162665] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2023] [Revised: 08/01/2023] [Accepted: 08/14/2023] [Indexed: 08/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Estimation of age represents a central focus in the veterinary forensic pathology field. Currently, the visual examination of the dentition and the skeletal age are the main methods to estimate the age of puppies. Nevertheless, these methods are affected by a broad range of variables. In contrast, the kidney is characterized by a specific postnatal development. In human glomerulogenesis, fetal mesangial cells change their immunohistochemical phenotypes with maturation. Therefore, we hypothesized that histological and immunohistochemical examinations of the kidney can be used together as an indirect parameter for age determination in puppies' cadavers. Forty-five puppies' cadavers were divided into five groups defined by age (Group A= 0-15 days, Group B = 16-45 days, Group C = 46-85 days, Group D = 86-105 days, Group E= 105-365 days). For each case, kidney samples were collected and processed for histopathological (for morphometrical study of the glomerulus) and immunohistochemical (for the immunolocalization of the α-SMA protein) studies. Morphometrical study allowed us to observe statistical differences in the mean glomerulus numbers per field among assessed groups. Similarly, immunohistochemical examination showed differences in SMA expression among groups. Our findings suggest a potential use of kidney morphometrical and immunohistochemical examinations together as an indirect parameter to assess the age of illegally imported puppies.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ilaria d’Aquino
- Unit of Pathology, Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Production, University of Naples Federico II, 80137 Naples, Italy; (I.d.); (D.C.); (L.M.); (L.R.); (E.V.); (O.P.)
| | - Giuseppe Piegari
- Unit of Pathology, Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Production, University of Naples Federico II, 80137 Naples, Italy; (I.d.); (D.C.); (L.M.); (L.R.); (E.V.); (O.P.)
| | - Gianluca Miletti
- Unit of Forensic Veterinary Medicine, Department of Animal Health, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Mezzogiorno, 80055 Naples, Italy; (G.M.); (E.S.)
| | - Emanuela Sannino
- Unit of Forensic Veterinary Medicine, Department of Animal Health, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Mezzogiorno, 80055 Naples, Italy; (G.M.); (E.S.)
| | - Dario Costanza
- Unit of Pathology, Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Production, University of Naples Federico II, 80137 Naples, Italy; (I.d.); (D.C.); (L.M.); (L.R.); (E.V.); (O.P.)
| | - Leonardo Meomartino
- Unit of Pathology, Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Production, University of Naples Federico II, 80137 Naples, Italy; (I.d.); (D.C.); (L.M.); (L.R.); (E.V.); (O.P.)
| | - Rosario Fico
- National Reference Centre for Veterinary Forensic Medicine, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Regioni Lazio e Toscana, 58100 Grosseto, Italy;
| | - Lorenzo Riccio
- Unit of Pathology, Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Production, University of Naples Federico II, 80137 Naples, Italy; (I.d.); (D.C.); (L.M.); (L.R.); (E.V.); (O.P.)
| | - Emanuela Vaccaro
- Unit of Pathology, Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Production, University of Naples Federico II, 80137 Naples, Italy; (I.d.); (D.C.); (L.M.); (L.R.); (E.V.); (O.P.)
| | - Davide De Biase
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Salerno, 84084 Salerno, Italy;
| | - Orlando Paciello
- Unit of Pathology, Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Production, University of Naples Federico II, 80137 Naples, Italy; (I.d.); (D.C.); (L.M.); (L.R.); (E.V.); (O.P.)
| |
Collapse
|
|
2
|
Viciano J, López-Lázaro S, Tanga C. Post-Mortem Dental Profile as a Powerful Tool in Animal Forensic Investigations—A Review. Animals (Basel) 2022; 12:ani12162038. [PMID: 36009628 PMCID: PMC9404435 DOI: 10.3390/ani12162038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2022] [Revised: 08/06/2022] [Accepted: 08/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Veterinary forensics is becoming more important in our society as a result of the growing demand for investigations related to crimes against animals or investigations of criminal deaths caused by animals. A veterinarian may participate as an expert witness or may be required to give forensic assistance, by providing knowledge of the specialty to establish a complete picture of the involvement of an animal and allowing the Courts to reach a verdict. By applying diverse dental profiling techniques, not only can species, sex, age-at-death, and body size of an animal be estimated, but also data about their geographical origin (provenance) and the post-mortem interval. This review concentrates on the dental techniques that use the characteristics of teeth as a means of identification of freshly deceased and skeletonised animals. Furthermore, this highlights the information that can be extracted about the animal from the post-mortem dental profile.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Joan Viciano
- Department of Medicine and Ageing Sciences, ‘G. d’Annunzio’ University of Chieti-Pescara, 66100 Chieti, Italy
- Correspondence: (J.V.); (S.L.-L.); (C.T.)
| | - Sandra López-Lázaro
- Departamento de Antropología, Facultad de Ciencias Sociales, Universidad de Chile, Santiago 6850331, Chile
- Forensic Dentistry Lab, Centro de Investigación en Odontología Legal y Forense–CIO–, Facultad de Odontología, Universidad de La Frontera, Temuco 4811230, Chile
- Correspondence: (J.V.); (S.L.-L.); (C.T.)
| | - Carmen Tanga
- Department of Legal Medicine, Toxicology and Physical Anthropology, University of Granada, 18016 Granada, Spain
- Correspondence: (J.V.); (S.L.-L.); (C.T.)
| |
Collapse
|