Influencing Factors on Postmortem Protein Degradation for PMI Estimation: A Systematic Review.

Area of Science:

• Forensic Science
• Biochemistry
• Postmortem Studies

Background:

• Postmortem protein degradation is a key indicator for estimating the postmortem interval (PMI).
• Numerous internal and external factors can influence the rate and pattern of protein degradation.
• Accurate PMI estimation relies on understanding how these factors affect protein breakdown.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review current research on factors influencing postmortem protein degradation.
• To assess the impact of these factors on protein degradation in human and animal tissues.
• To evaluate the implications for protein degradation-based PMI estimation in forensic science.

Main Methods:

• Systematic literature search of PubMed and Google Scholar up to December 2020.
• Inclusion of studies investigating influencing factors on postmortem protein degradation in animal and human tissues.
• Analysis of ten studies examining seven different influencing factors across various tissues and organs.

Main Results:

• A wide variety of factors were investigated, with most shown to affect protein degradation.
• High diversity in factors and risk of bias complicated direct comparison of study outcomes.
• Protein degradation is demonstrably modulated by various influencing factors, affecting PMI estimation precision.

Conclusions:

• Influencing factors significantly alter protein degradation, impacting PMI estimation accuracy.
• Thorough screening for these factors is necessary to develop correction factors and exclusion criteria.
• Improved understanding and application of these principles will enhance the reliability of protein degradation-based PMI estimation in forensic casework.