The potential use of Piwi-interacting RNA biomarkers in forensic body fluid identification: A proof-of-principle study

Shouyu Wang; Zheng Wang; Ruiyang Tao; Guanglin He; Jing Liu; Chengtao Li; Yiping Hou

doi:10.1016/j.fsigen.2019.01.002

The potential use of Piwi-interacting RNA biomarkers in forensic body fluid identification: A proof-of-principle study

Forensic Sci Int Genet. 2019 Mar:39:129-135. doi: 10.1016/j.fsigen.2019.01.002. Epub 2019 Jan 8.

Authors

Shouyu Wang¹, Zheng Wang¹, Ruiyang Tao², Guanglin He¹, Jing Liu¹, Chengtao Li², Yiping Hou³

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Forensic Medicine, West China School of Basic Medical Sciences & Forensic Medicine, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041, China.
² Institute of Forensic Medicine, West China School of Basic Medical Sciences & Forensic Medicine, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041, China; Shanghai Key Laboratory of Forensic Medicine, Shanghai Forensic Service Platform, Academy of Forensic Sciences, Ministry of Justice, Shanghai, 200063, China.
³ Institute of Forensic Medicine, West China School of Basic Medical Sciences & Forensic Medicine, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041, China. Electronic address: forensic@scu.edu.cn.

PMID: 30640084
DOI: 10.1016/j.fsigen.2019.01.002

Abstract

In the forensic community, RNA profiling has been investigated as a potential method to identify body fluids. Several RNA molecules, including messenger RNA (mRNA), microRNA (miRNA) and circular RNA (circRNA), have been explored as biomarkers to distinguish different body fluids and have led to considerable interest in the development of RNA biomarkers for forensic purposes. Piwi-interacting RNA (piRNA), a class of noncoding RNAs, is a potential biomarker for body fluid identification because of its short length (˜24-32 nt) and specific expression pattern in human tissues. In this proof-of-principle study, we examined the expression levels of four carefully selected piRNAs in forensically relevant biological fluids (venous blood, saliva, semen, menstrual blood and vaginal secretions) using TaqMan quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (TaqMan qPCR). piR-55521, which was not detectable in saliva, can differentiate semen from other body fluids because it was strongly expressed in semen compared to the remaining three fluids (> 4000-fold change). Furthermore, piR-55521 could be detected in semen samples made from as little as 200 pg of total RNA, and addition of female component had no effect on the detection limit. Furthermore, the expression differences of other piRNAs, piR-61648, piR-43994 and piR-33151, were statistically significant between at least two types of body fluids. Stability tests also indicated that these piRNAs could be effectively detected in dried samples under laboratory and outdoor conditions for at least six months. Although limited to four piRNAs, this study suggests that the expression pattern of piRNAs could be used to identify body fluids, and that piRNA (piR-55521) is specifically expressed in semen. Such findings suggest that additional work could identify other piRNAs that could serve as biomarkers to identify body fluids.

Keywords: Body fluid identification; Forensic genetics; Piwi-interacting RNA (piRNA); TaqMan qPCR.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adult
Blood Chemical Analysis*
Cervix Mucus / chemistry*
Female
Forensic Genetics / methods
Genetic Markers*
Humans
Male
Menstruation
RNA, Small Interfering / isolation & purification*
Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction
Saliva / chemistry*
Semen / chemistry*
Young Adult

Substances

Genetic Markers
RNA, Small Interfering