Detection and Estimation of Age of Injuries in Fresh Bodies Using Immunohistochemistry

A cross-sectional study of the wound age estimation from the forensic skin wound samples was performed immunohistochemically with a sample size of 40 (n = 40). The samples were segregated according to the appropriate stages of wound healing with the help of hematoxylin-eosin staining. Later, they were subjected to immunohistochemistry staining with anti-AQP3 antibody. Quantification of the expression of AQP3 in the injured and uninjured formalin-fixed skin tissues was done semiquantitatively and manually under 400× magnifications. The AQP3-positive cells were correlated with the duration of injury, and the results were statistically analyzed. More AQP3 expressions were found in the proliferative phase than the inflammatory and maturation phase of wound healing. Neither the diversity in age group nor the sex differentiation showed any specific correlation with the expression of keratinocytic aquaporin cells. Likewise, parameters such as the type of injury, mode of injury, and the postmortem interval also did not show any significant relationship with the expression of the aquaporin positivity. Thus, it is revealed that skin wounds between 5 and 10 days expressed aquaporin cell numbers of more than 300. Hence AQP3 estimation helps in determining the time since injury with a more accuracy.