Human Bone Proteomes before and after Decomposition: Investigating the Effects of Biological Variation and Taphonomic Alteration on Bone Protein Profiles and the Implications for Forensic ProteomicsShow others and affiliations
2021 (English)In: Journal of Proteome Research, ISSN 1535-3893, E-ISSN 1535-3907, Vol. 20, no 5, p. 2533-2546Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
Bone proteomic studies using animal proxies and skeletonized human remains have delivered encouraging results in the search for potential biomarkers for precise and accurate postmortem interval (PMI) and the age-at-death (AAD) estimation in medico-legal investigations. The development of forensic proteomics for PMI and AAD estimation is in critical need of research on human remains throughout decomposition, as currently the effects of both inter-individual biological differences and taphonomic alteration on the survival of human bone protein profiles are unclear. This study investigated the human bone proteome in four human body donors studied throughout decomposition outdoors. The effects of ageing phenomena (in vivo and post-mortem) and intrinsic and extrinsic variables on the variety and abundancy of the bone proteome were assessed. Results indicate that taphonomic and biological variables play a significant role in the survival of proteins in bone. Our findings suggest that inter-individual and inter-skeletal differences in bone mineral density (BMD) are important variables affecting the survival of proteins. Specific proteins survive better within the mineral matrix due to their mineral-binding properties. The mineral matrix likely also protects these proteins by restricting the movement of decomposer microbes. New potential biomarkers for PMI estimation and AAD estimation were identified. Future development of forensic bone proteomics should include standard measurement of BMD and target a combination of different biomarkers.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
American Chemical Society (ACS), 2021. Vol. 20, no 5, p. 2533-2546
Keywords [en]
forensic proteomics, forensic taphonomy, bone mineral density, post-mortem interval estimation, age-at-death estimation, human decomposition, forensic microbiology
National Category
Forensic Science
Research subject
Social Sciences, Police Science
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:lnu:diva-104074DOI: 10.1021/acs.jproteome.0c00992ISI: 000649269600033PubMedID: 33683123Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85103462336Local ID: 2021OAI: oai:DiVA.org:lnu-104074DiVA, id: diva2:1560940
2021-06-042021-06-042022-06-14Bibliographically approved