HIF-1α expression by immunohistochemistry and mRNA-210 levels by real time polymerase chain reaction in post-mortem cardiac tissues: A pilot study

The postmortem diagnosis of acute myocardial ischemia (AMI) represents a challenging issue in forensic practice. Immunohistochemical studies and gene expression studies are becoming a promising field of research in forensic pathology. The present study aims to evaluate HIF-1α expression through immunohistochemistry (IHC), and mRNA-210 level using real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), in order to define if HIF-1α and mRNA-210 in post-mortem myocardium could be adopted in the diagnosis of AMI.

Thirty-five deceased individuals, who underwent forensic autopsy at the Legal Medicine Service of the University of Parma, between 2010 and 2018, were investigated. The cohort was divided into two groups according to the cause of death (sudden deaths caused by AMI vs control cases). Cardiac specimens were collected during autopsy, then samples were processed for morphological evaluation using haematoxylin-eosin staining, for IHC, and for RT-PCR. HIF-1α expression and mRNA-210 levels were investigated.

Statistical evaluation demonstrated statistically significant differences in terms of number of IHC positive vessels, leukocytes, and cardiomyocytes between the two groups. Moreover, in the majority of cases, immunostaining positivity was observed only in myocardial and subendocardial samples. With reference to mRNA-210, the difference between the two groups proved to be statistically significant.

The present study indicates that HIF-1α and mRNA-210 in post-mortem cardiac specimens could represent appropriate biomarkers in the diagnosis of AMI. The current study was primarily limited by the scarcity of the cohort, so further research is required to confirm these preliminary observations.