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Ward LJ, Kling S, Engvall G, Söderberg C, Kugelberg FC, Green H, Elmsjö A. Postmortem metabolomics as a high-throughput cause-of-death screening tool for human death investigations. iScience 2024; 27:109794. [PMID: 38711455 PMCID: PMC11070332 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2024.109794] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2023] [Revised: 03/05/2024] [Accepted: 04/17/2024] [Indexed: 05/08/2024] Open
Abstract
Autopsy rates are declining globally, impacting cause-of-death (CoD) diagnoses and quality control. Postmortem metabolomics was evaluated for CoD screening using 4,282 human cases, encompassing CoD groups: acidosis, drug intoxication, hanging, ischemic heart disease (IHD), and pneumonia. Cases were split 3:1 into training and test sets. High-resolution mass spectrometry data from femoral blood were analyzed via orthogonal-partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) to discriminate CoD groups. OPLS-DA achieved an R2 = 0.52 and Q2 = 0.30, with true-positive prediction rates of 68% and 65% for training and test sets, respectively, across all groups. Specificity-optimized thresholds predicted 56% of test cases with a unique CoD, average 45% sensitivity, and average 96% specificity. Prediction accuracies varied: 98.7% for acidosis, 80.5% for drug intoxication, 81.6% for hanging, 73.1% for IHD, and 93.6% for pneumonia. This study demonstrates the potential of large-scale postmortem metabolomics for CoD screening, offering high specificity and enhancing throughput and decision-making in human death investigations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liam J. Ward
- Department of Forensic Genetics and Forensic Toxicology, National Board of Forensic Medicine, 587 58 Linköping, Sweden
- Division of Clinical Chemistry and Pharmacology, Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Linköping University, 581 83 Linköping, Sweden
| | - Sara Kling
- Department of Forensic Genetics and Forensic Toxicology, National Board of Forensic Medicine, 587 58 Linköping, Sweden
| | - Gustav Engvall
- Department of Forensic Genetics and Forensic Toxicology, National Board of Forensic Medicine, 587 58 Linköping, Sweden
- Division of Clinical Chemistry and Pharmacology, Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Linköping University, 581 83 Linköping, Sweden
- Department of Forensic Medicine, National Board of Forensic Medicine, 587 58 Linköping, Sweden
| | - Carl Söderberg
- Department of Forensic Genetics and Forensic Toxicology, National Board of Forensic Medicine, 587 58 Linköping, Sweden
| | - Fredrik C. Kugelberg
- Department of Forensic Genetics and Forensic Toxicology, National Board of Forensic Medicine, 587 58 Linköping, Sweden
- Division of Clinical Chemistry and Pharmacology, Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Linköping University, 581 83 Linköping, Sweden
| | - Henrik Green
- Department of Forensic Genetics and Forensic Toxicology, National Board of Forensic Medicine, 587 58 Linköping, Sweden
- Division of Clinical Chemistry and Pharmacology, Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Linköping University, 581 83 Linköping, Sweden
| | - Albert Elmsjö
- Department of Forensic Genetics and Forensic Toxicology, National Board of Forensic Medicine, 587 58 Linköping, Sweden
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Huang W, Zhao S, Liu H, Pan M, Dong H. The Role of Protein Degradation in Estimation Postmortem Interval and Confirmation of Cause of Death in Forensic Pathology: A Literature Review. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:1659. [PMID: 38338938 PMCID: PMC10855206 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25031659] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2023] [Revised: 01/04/2024] [Accepted: 01/26/2024] [Indexed: 02/12/2024] Open
Abstract
It is well known that proteins are important bio-macromolecules in human organisms, and numerous proteins are widely used in the clinical practice, whereas their application in forensic science is currently limited. This limitation is mainly attributed to the postmortem degradation of targeted proteins, which can significantly impact final conclusions. In the last decade, numerous methods have been established to detect the protein from a forensic perspective, and some of the postmortem proteins have been applied in forensic practice. To better understand the emerging issues and challenges in postmortem proteins, we have reviewed the current application of protein technologies at postmortem in forensic practice. Meanwhile, we discuss the application of proteins in identifying the cause of death, and postmortem interval (PMI). Finally, we highlight the interpretability and limitations of postmortem protein challenges. We believe that utilizing the multi-omics method can enhance the comprehensiveness of applying proteins in forensic practice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Weisheng Huang
- Department of Forensic Medicine, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, No. 13 Hangkong Road, Hankou, Wuhan 430030, China; (W.H.)
| | - Shuquan Zhao
- Faculty of Forensic Pathology, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China;
| | - Huine Liu
- Department of Forensic Medicine, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, No. 13 Hangkong Road, Hankou, Wuhan 430030, China; (W.H.)
| | - Meichen Pan
- Department of Forensic Medicine, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, No. 13 Hangkong Road, Hankou, Wuhan 430030, China; (W.H.)
| | - Hongmei Dong
- Department of Forensic Medicine, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, No. 13 Hangkong Road, Hankou, Wuhan 430030, China; (W.H.)
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