Background
Methods
Literature search technique
Article selection
Data synthesis
Results
Literature search and description
Data synthesis and results
First author | Years | Location | Sample | Treatment (euthanasia technique, temperature, time of death, cause of death) | Post-mortem Interval | Tissue source | Extraction technique | Amplification technique | miRNA target | Results | Conclusion | Research limitation | |
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1 | Derakhshanfar A et al. [4] | 2022 | Iran | Rats (Sprague Dawley) | Euthanasia technique using: (1) CO2 gas (2) ketamine/xylazine injection | 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 24, and 48 H | Liver | QIAzol lysis reagent (Cat.No.79306, Qiagen, USA) | RT-qPCR | miR-122 | miR-122 was significantly upregulated at 4, 10, and 24 h and downregulated at 6, 8, and 48 h for samples that were euthanized by ketamine injection compared to those treated with CO2 gas | Different euthanasia methods have others on the tissue and also affect the level of miR-122 expression in the liver according to the treatment | Limited in cost and research design |
2 | Martinez-Rivera V et al. [6] | 2021 | Mexico | Rats (Wistar) (n = 25) | Cervical dislocation | 0, 3, 6, 12, and 24 H | Skeletal muscle | Trizol™ Reagent | RT-qPCR | miR-144-3p miR-23b-3p miR-381-3p | miR-114-3p decreased at 0-6 hours but not significantly miR-23b-3p significantly downregulated at 3 to 24 hours compared to controls miR-381-30 was significantly downregulated in the first 3 hours and upregulated at 6 to 24 h. | miRNAs play a role in the autolysis process. These are supported by the dysregulation of miR-23b-3p and miR-381-3p in mouse muscle at the beginning of death miR-381-3p could become a biomolecular marker to estimate post-mortem interval, but further research is needed to corroborate this marker. | The number of samples in each group is still limited. |
3 | Kim SY et al. [24] | 2021 | South Korea | Human Male (n = 17) Female (n = 11) Total (n = 28) | Natural death (n = 15) Intracerebral hemorrhagic Hypertensive, heart disease, aneurysmal subarachnoid Hemorrhagic Unnatural death (n = 13) Subdural Hemorrhagic drowning asphyxia | 16–86 H | Blood (veins) Peripheral blood, cardiac blood, coronary sinus blood | miRNeasy serum/plasma kit (Qiagen, Hilden, Germany) | RT -qPCR | miR-16 miR-208b let-7e miR-1 | miR-16 and let-7e did not show significant differences in expression levels from peripheral blood, cardiac blood, and coronary sinus blood samples miR-208 showed significantly different expression levels between the 3 sample sources. miR-1 showed a significant difference in expression levels between samples from peripheral blood and coronary sinus blood. | miR-208 and miR-1 showed significant differences in expression levels compared to blood sources. This condition did not lead to a meaningful relationship with post-mortem interval. miR-16 and let-7e had no significant relationship when associated with post-mortem interval. | Not listed |
4 | Na JY [19] | 2020 | South Korea | Human (n = 71) | – | < 1 months 1–3 months 3–6 months > 6 months | Bone (Patella) | TRIzol™ reagent (Thermo Fisher Scientific, Waltham, MA, 33USA) | RT-qPCR | Let-7e miR-16 | The expression of let-73 and miR-16 was significantly different between the < 1-month samples compared to the other three groups. | Inadequate number of samples | |
5 | Han L et al. [26] | 2020 | China | Human (n = 71) | Sudden cardiac death (n = 5), mechanical asphyxia (n = 14), poisoning (n = 14), hemorrhagic shock (n = 14), craniocerebral injury (n = 14) | 0–40 H | Heart (apical region) | Trizol (Invitrogen, USA) | RT-qPCR | miR-3185 | miR-3185 had increased expression levels in samples that died because of mechanical asphyxia compared to other reasons. | Changes in the expression level of miR-3185 did not correlate with the time interval of death. | Not listed |
6 | Ibrahim SF et al. [33] | 2019 | Arab Saudi | Albino rats (n = 18) | Cervical dislocation | 0, 24, and 48 H | Skin | mirVana PARIS Kit (Ambion, Austin, TX, USA) | RT-qPCR | miR-205 miR-21 | miR-205 and miR-21 showed a significant increase 24 h after death, and there was a drastic decrease at 48 h | Pearson correlation test showed that the decrease in miR-205 and miR-21 expression levels did not correlate with the post-mortem interval. | The time interval for assessing the correlation of histological changes is too long. |
7 | Alshehhi S et al. [34] | 2019 | UK | Human (n = 19) | – | 0, 7, 14, 28, 90, 180, 270, and 360 D | Saliva Semen fluid | TRIR Reagent (Sigma-Aldrich, Gillingham, UK) | RT-qPCR | miR-205 miR-891a miR-10b | miR-205 in saliva showed no significant level expression decrease and remained stable over time miR-891a in semen fluids showed stable results over time from day 0–360 after death Degradation of miR-10b in semen fluids increased until day 14 and stabilized. | miRNAs have a higher stability when compared to mRNAs in the fluid of the body | The number of samples in each sample group is inadequate. The selection of specific markers for body fluids should be more comprehensive. |
8 | Tu C et al. [27] | 2018 | China | Rats BALB/cc (n = 45) | Cervical vertebra dislocation | 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 D | Liver Heart Skeletal muscle | Trizol reagent (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, CA, USA) | RT-qPCR | miR-122 miR133a | miR-122 and miR-133a have stabilized expression levels in Heart miR-122 has a high and sustained level of expression in the liver. miR-133a has the most stable expression in skeletal muscle | miRNAs have stability in post-mortem tissues, so selecting reference genes is necessary to serve as guidelines for estimating post-mortem interval. miR-122 and miR-133a have a stable expression that can be used as reference genes | Gene references need to be increased to 3–4, especially for the heart and liver, to improve the accuracy of post-mortem interval estimation. |
9 | Ye-Hui Lv et al. [9] | 2017 | China | Human 7 males 6 females (n = 13) Rats Sprague-Dawley) (n = 36) | 5 hemorrhagic shocks 4 brain trauma 4 mechanical asphyxia Cervical dislocation Temperature 4 °C, 15 °C, 25 °C 35 °C | 0,24,48,72,96,120, and 144 H | Myocardium (Apex Cordis) Liver (right lobe) Brain (frontal) | RNAiso Plus (Takara, Japan) | RT-qPCR | miR-133a miR-122 miR-1 | miR-133a and miR-1 have high stability in muscle myocardium for more than five days at all temperatures. miR-122 degraded along PMI in the Liver, especially at high temperature | miR-1 and miR-133a can act as a marker or reference genes in the heart because they have high stability, while miR-122 cannot be used as a reference gene in the liver because it has degraded | Not listed |
10 | Ye-Hui Lv et al [28] | 2016 | China | Human (n = 12) Rats (Sprague-Dawley) (n = 216) | - Cervical dislocation Temperature 10 ± 1, 20 ± 1, 30 ± 1 °C | 1, 3, 6, 12, 24, 36, 48, 72, 96, 120, and 144 H | Lung Muscle (Femoral Quadriceps) Lung | RNAiso Plus (Takara Japan) | RT-qPCR | miR-206 miR-1 miR-200c miR-195 | miR-195 is stable in the Lung tissue along the post-mortem interval miR-200c is stable in the Lung tissue along the post-mortem interval miR-1 and miR-206 have stable expression levels in muscle along the post-mortem interval | miR-195 and miR-200c were chosen as reference genes in the Lung, while miR-1 and miR-206 were chosen as reference genes in muscle because they have stable characteristics | It does not display antemortem data affecting |
11 | Corradini B et al [35] | 2015 | Italy | Human (n = 18) | Died during the day and at night | Whole blood ≤ 48 H Vitreous humor ≤ 24 H | Whole blood Vitreous humor | miRNeasy Micro Kit (QIAGEN, Hilden, Germany) | RT-qPCR | miR-142-3p miR-132-3p miR-182-5p miR-26a-5p miR-96-5p miR-194-5p miR-106b-5p miR-142-5p miR-541 miR-219a-5p | miR-142-5p showed significant expression levels between samples that deceased in daytime and at nighttime miR-219 showed significant expression levels between samples that deceased in daytime and at nighttime miR-106b and miR-96 showed significant differences in expression levels between daytime and deceased nighttime samples in vitreous humor tissues | miRNAs show strong potential as they have extreme resilience after death in adverse environments and various conditions. | The number of samples is inadequate miRNA targets need to be increased |
12 | Yu S et al [25] | 2015 | South Korea | Mice (Imprinting control region) (n = 13) | Cervical dislocation (n = 3) Water drowning (n = 5) Salt drowning (n = 5) | 24 H | Brain (cerebrum) | Trizol Reagent (Life Technologies Carlbas, CCA, USA) | RT-qPCR | miR-706 | miR-706 showed upregulated after 24 hours in samples soaked in plain water miR-706 showed downregulated after 24 hours in samples soaked in saltwater | miR-706 showed significant differences in expression levels when given a different treatment, such as upregulated when submerged in plain water and downregulated when submerged in saltwater | Not listed |
13 | Ma J et al [29] | 2015 | China | Rats (Sprague-Dawley) (n = 270) | Cervical dislocation | 1, 3, 6, 12, 24, 36, 48, 72, 96, 120, and 144 H | Brain | Trizol Solvent (Invitrogen, USA) | RT-qPCR | miR-125b miR-9 | miR-125b has stable expression levels up to 144 h after death miR-9 has stable expression levels up to 144 hours after death | miR-125b and miR-9 have stable expression throughout the death interval, so they were used as reference genes. | Not listed |
14 | Ye-Hui Lv et al [3]° | 2014 | China | Rats (Sprague Dawley) (n = 12) | Cervical amputation Storage temperature 4 ± 2°C and 25 ± 2°C | 0, 1, 3, 12, 24, 36, 48, 72, 96, 120, 144, 168, 192, 216, 240, 288, and 312 H | Spleen | Trizol solvent (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, CA) | RT-qPCR | miR-125b miR-143 | miR-125b and miR-143 showed more stable expression along the post-mortem interval at both 25 °C and 4 °C storage temperatures. | miRNAs are an excellent choice as endogenous marker control because they are least affected by the time of death and temperature, such as miR-125b and miR-143 | Not listed |
15 | Wen-Can L et al [31] | 2014 | China | Rats (Sprague Dawley) | Killed by suffocating | 1, 3, 6, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, 36, 48, 72, 96, 120, 144, and 168 H | Heart | Trizol solvent (Invitrogen, USA) | RT-qPCR | miR-1 | miR-1 has a stable expression value along the postmortem interval | miR-1 is a stable miRNA. miR-1 is chosen to be an endogenous control in the heart | Not listed |
16 | Wang H et al [21] | 2013 | China | Tikus (C57) (n = 33) | Not listed | 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 20, 24, and 48 H | Liver | RNAiso reagent (Takara, Japan) | RT-qPCR | miR-195 miR-150 miR-122 miR-206 miR-133a | miR-206 expression levels decreased in the first 24 h after death miR-133a expression levels decreased in the first 24 h after death miR-195 expression levels rise during the first 24 h after death | Changes in expression levels occurred in all five miRNAs but did not correlate with the first 24 h of PMI | Not listed |
17 | Odriozola A el al [15] | 2013 | Spain | Human (n = 34) | Dying during the day Dying at night | ≤ 24 H | Vitreous humor | miRNA Isolation Kit AmbionR mirVana™ (Ambion, Austin, TX) | RT-qPCR | miR-541 miR-142-5p miR-20a miR-34c miR-888 miR-671- 3p miR-484 | miR-20a, miR-142-5p, miR-484, miR-541, miR-671-3p, miR-34c, and miR-888 showed significantly stable expression levels at both individual mortality times. | The miRNA expression did not correlate with the mortality interval. It is concluded that miRNAs are stable, especially 24 h after the end of life. | The number of samples is inadequate Medical data samples are incomplete, such as cause of death, previous illnesses, etc. |
18 | Zhangheng et al [32] | 2013 | China | Human (n = 40) | Head injury, hemorrhagic shock, mechanical asphyxia, sudden cardiac disease | < 10 H 10–20 H > 20 H | Heart Brain Kidney Skin | Trizol reagent (Invitrogen, CA) | RT-qPCR | miR-194 miR-1 miR-203 miR-9 | miR-9 showed stable expression levels in the Brain at the time interval of death between 10 and 20 h in head injury cases and showed stable expression levels at the time interval of dying between 10 and 20 h in hemorrhagic shock cases miR-1 showed stable expression in the heart at the interval of death < 10 h in cases of death due to Head injury and steady at a gap of dying between 10 and 22 h in cases of mechanical asphyxia miR-194 showed stable expression levels in the Kidney at the time interval of death < 10 h, 10–20 h in cases of hemorrhagic shock and sound at the time interval of death > 20 h in cases of mechanical asphyxia miR-203 shows stable expression levels in the skin at the < 10 h mortality interval in head injury deaths | In this study, miRNA is not suitable to be used as an endogenous control. | The sample is not diverse enough. Another miRNAs target needs to be selected |