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Isolation of Cardiomyocyte Nuclei from Post-mortem Tissue
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The effects of death and post-mortem cold ischemia on human tissue transcriptomes
Pedro G Ferreira1,2, Manuel Muñoz-Aguirre3,4,5,6, Ferran Reverter3,4,5,7
1Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto, Rua Alfredo Allen, 208, Porto, 4200-135, Portugal. pferreira@ipatimup.pt.
Nature Communications
|February 15, 2018
Summary
Investigating gene expression in post-mortem tissues reveals that the time since death (post-mortem interval) significantly impacts RNA levels. This study identifies active transcriptional changes after death and develops a model to predict time since death from transcriptome data.
Area of Science:
- Genomics
- Molecular Biology
- Bioinformatics
Background:
- Post-mortem tissue samples are crucial for gene expression studies.
- The time since death (post-mortem interval, PMI) can alter RNA levels, posing a challenge for analysis.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of PMI on gene expression across various tissues.
- To identify transcriptional events occurring after death.
- To develop a predictive model for time since death based on transcriptome data.
Main Methods:
- Utilized gene expression data from post-mortem tissues (GTEx project).
- Analyzed tissue-specific gene expression changes in relation to PMI.
- Compared ante-mortem and post-mortem blood samples to understand death-triggered events.
- Developed a predictive model using transcriptome data.
Main Results:
- Numerous genes show altered expression with increasing PMI in a tissue-specific manner.
- Transcriptional changes post-mortem are actively regulated, not just random degradation.
- A model was successfully developed to estimate time since death from accessible tissues.
Conclusions:
- PMI is a critical factor influencing gene expression in post-mortem samples.
- Understanding PMI-related transcriptional changes is essential for accurate biological interpretation.
- Transcriptome analysis offers a viable method for estimating time since death.
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