Department of Forensic Medicine, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, No. 13 Hangkong Road, Hankou, Wuhan 430030, China.
Faculty of Forensic Pathology, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China.
Int J Mol Sci. 2024 Jan 29;25(3):1659. doi: 10.3390/ijms25031659.
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.
众所周知，蛋白质是人体生物大分子中的重要物质，许多蛋白质在临床医学中得到广泛应用，而其在法医学中的应用目前受到限制。这种限制主要归因于目标蛋白质在死后的降解，这可能会对最终结论产生重大影响。在过去的十年中，已经建立了许多方法来从法医学角度检测蛋白质，并且一些死后的蛋白质已经在法医学实践中得到应用。为了更好地了解死后蛋白质的新出现的问题和挑战，我们回顾了目前在法医学实践中应用的蛋白质技术。同时，我们讨论了蛋白质在确定死因和死后时间（PMI）方面的应用。最后，我们强调了死后蛋白质挑战的可解释性和局限性。我们相信，利用多组学方法可以提高蛋白质在法医学实践中的应用的全面性。
