Objective To study the antigenicity of human thyrotropin receptor(hTSHR)amino terminus (amino acid 29～280)and its association with Graves' disease.Methods Total thyroid RNA was prepared from human normal thyroid tissue.RNA was then reversely transcripted and cDNA was subjected to PCR amplification.PCR product was cloned into pcDNA3.1 and the recombinant plasmid was named pcDNA3.1/hTSHR188～940bp. Balb/c mice were immunized with peDNA3.1/hTSHR188～940bp. The levels of serum thyroxin,anti-TSHR antibody(TRAb)and thyroid stimulating antibody(TSAb)were measured,and the pathological changes of thyroid tissue were also observed.Results A 753 bp fragment encoding hTSHR ectodomain amino end was obtained after PCR amplification.Confirmed by Hind Ⅲ restriction enzyme digestion and DNA sequencing,pcDNA3.1/hTSHR188～940bphad been constructed successfully,with the correct sequence and direction of hTSHR188～940bp.In the Balb/c mice treated with pcDNA3.1/hTSHR188～940bp,elevated TRAb in week 6(0.148±0.018)were observed compared with those at week o(0.106±0.006,P＜0.01),and kept a higher level till week 10(0.134±0.011,P＜0.01).T4 and TSAb index values were significantly increased in week 10.Serum T4 concentration increased from(41.02±7.97)μg/L in week 0 to(62.20±12.77)μg/L in week 10(P＜0.01);TSAb index values rose from 0.864±0.076 at week 0 to 1.392±0.615(P＜0.01).Thyroid pathological examination showed that proliferated thyroid follicular epithelial cells and foll icular eapacity increased.Inflammatory cells were occasionally found.Conclusions There are antigen epitopes in hTSHR ectodomain amino acid 29～280,which can stimulate the production of TSAb.And the latter induces hyperthyroidism and Graves' disease like manifestations.It suggests that hTSHR ectodomain amino acid 29～280 is closely associated with Graves' disease,and maybe one of important etiological factors leading to the disease.

Allele-specific polymerase chain reaction (AS-PCR) is a technique based on allele-specific primers, which can be used to analyze single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) effectively including the transition, transversion and insertion/deletion polymorphism and has been exploited in the study of diseases research, molecular diagnosis, and forensic biological evidence. The article systematically reviews the principle, the detection methods, improvement of AS-PCR, and its research updates in the fields of autosome, Y chromosome and mitochondrial SNP, as well as its application in forensic science.
Alleles ; DNA Primers ; Forensic Sciences ; Humans ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Polymorphism, Genetic ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the cases of anaphylactic death cases and explore the standards of judicial expertise of anaphylactic death for providing evidence for judicial expertise. METHODS: Fifty-nine cases death due to allergic reaction in Shanghai were collected. And details of medical history, clinical manifestation of anaphylactic reaction and postmortem examination findings were reviewed for all cases. RESULTS: In the 59 cases, there were 58 cases died from drug allergy, including 77.6% of them were antibiotics. The rates of treating in standard hospital and illegal clinic were 37.3% and 61.0%, respectively. The allergic symptoms were dyspnea and facial cyanosis. The time from contacting allergens to death ranged from 1 min to 3 d. The concentration of total serum IgE ranged from 50 to 576.92 IU/mL. The results of clinical manifestation and pathological anatomy had obviously changes. CONCLUSION Based on the exclusion of all other cause of death and synthetically analysis of details of cases, medical history, clinical manifestation and anatomy, the conclusion of anaphylactic death can reached. The details of cases including clinical history, exposure to allergens, and clinical manifestation play an important role in diagnosis of anaphylactic death.
Anaphylaxis/mortality* ; Anti-Bacterial Agents/adverse effects* ; Autopsy ; China ; Drug Hypersensitivity/mortality* ; Forensic Sciences ; Humans

Human violent behavior is a complex behavior which is influenced by genetic and environmental factors. There is a trend in investigating the mechanism of violent behavior by using the genetic methods. This article reviews several candidate genes and advances in epigenetics which are associated with violent behavior. The prospects and significance of violent behavior research from the view of gene polymorphism and epigenetics are also discussed.
Aggression ; Epigenesis, Genetic ; Forensic Genetics ; Humans ; Polymorphism, Genetic ; Violence

RNA has received more attention in the field of forensic medicine and the development of the new biological markers based on RNA shows great significance in the analysis of complex cases. circular RNA (circRNA) is a kind of non-coding RNA which is widely reported recently. Although the regulatory mechanisms of generation and expression are not fully clear, the existing research indicates that circRNA has important biological functions. CircRNA has a cell-type-specific expression with great stability and a high expression level, which makes it meaningful in forensic applications potentially. In this paper, the research progress, the generation and regulation of circRNA as well as its biological characteristics and functions are summarized, which will provide references for related studies and forensic applications.
Forensic Sciences ; Humans ; RNA ; RNA, Circular

Fibronectin is an important large adhesive glycoprotein of the extracellular matrix, which is alternatively spliced in three regions, designated EIIIA, EIIIB and IIIcs respectively. IIIcs contains two binding domains for a variety of cell surface and extracellular ligands. Through this multiplicity of adhesive activities, IIIcs can fulfill key roles in a broad spectrum of physiological processes, such as cell spreading and migration, differentiation and embryogenesis, wound healing, malignant transformation and metastasis, etc. Here, we will discuss the structure, biological property, and function of IIIcs splicing variants and its forensic applications.
Alternative Splicing ; Animals ; Cattle ; Fibronectins/physiology* ; Forensic Medicine ; Humans ; Rats ; Wound Healing/physiology*

Objective To study the personality characteristics of the stagnation of liver-qi syndrome cases with Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI).Methods 20 liver-qi stagnation syndrome cases and 20 normal persons whose paired by sex and age were tested by MMPI. The scores of 13 clinical scales and the section plane of MMPI were acquired and analyzed. Results There was a significant difference in 9 clinical scales (F, Pa, D, Pt, Si, Sc, Hs, Hy, Pd) between the liver-qi stagnation syndrome cases and normal persons ( P<0.05～0.001). The scores of Hs, D, Hy, Pd in the liver-qi stagnation syndrome group were higher than the Chinese normal model. The MMPI section plane of liver-qi stagnation group presented the type of 3/1. Conclusion The patients with liver-qi stagnation have some special personality characteristics such as depression, anxiety, loneliness, indifferent and attention.

OBJECTIVE: To research the expression of alternative splicing segment of fibronectin-IIIcs in incised wound of skin, to offer the experimental data for early injury time judgement. METHODS: Using in situ hybridization with DIG-labeled anti-sense RNA probe, the expression of FN-IIIcs domain was detected in both human and rat skin incised wound. RESULTS: (1) The expression of FN-IIIcs improved from the time of 30 min after injury, reached peak at 6 h and then reduced gradually. (2) The positive expression cells were mainly distributed in hair follicles, sebaceous glands and endothelium, however, in human beings they were basement cells of epidermis. CONCLUSION The expression of FN-IIIcs domain would be a supposed useful criteria for early injury time judgement.
Animals ; Fibronectins/genetics* ; Forensic Medicine ; Humans ; Male ; RNA, Messenger/biosynthesis* ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Skin/metabolism* ; Time Factors ; Wound Healing/physiology*

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the polymorphism of rs220030, a SNP which is located in the promoter region of small nuclear ribonucleoprotein polypeptide N (SNRPN) gene in the Chinese Han population and to obtain the data of population genetics. METHODS: The denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) method was applied to detect the polymorphism of rs220030 in 100 unrelated and healthy individuals from the Shanghai Han population. The genotyping result of this SNP was confirmed by TaqMan assay in some typical samples. RESULTS: DGGE results showed 4 bands for CT heterozygote, and 1 band for CC or TT homozygote, and those results were confirmed by The TaqMan SNP genotyping assays. Genotyping results showed 34 individuals with CC, 41 with CT and 25 with TT of rs220030. The allele frequencies for C and T were 0.545 and 0.455, respectively. H was 0.500, PIC was 0.373, DP was 0.654, and PE was 0.186. The distribution of genotype frequencies were in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. CONCLUSION DGGE is a quick and effective method in the analysis of SNP polymorphism in small population. Statistical parameters of rs220030 for forensic evaluation meet the requirements for forensic identification and paternity testing.
Alleles ; Asian People/genetics* ; China/ethnology* ; DNA Primers ; Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis/methods* ; Gene Frequency ; Genetic Markers ; Genetics, Population ; Genotype ; Heterozygote ; Humans ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide/genetics* ; Promoter Regions, Genetic ; snRNP Core Proteins/genetics*

OBJECTIVE: To explore the relationship between the expression of EIIIA+ fibronectin in incised wound of rat's skin and injury time. METHODS: The wounding model was established by cutting the dorsal skin of 48 adult SD rats. The rats were sacrificed at the pre-set injury time as immediately, 0.5 h, 1 h, 2 h, 3 h, 4 h, 6 h, and 8 h. The skin samples were taken at the margin of wound. The expression of the EIIIA? fibronectin was detected by immunohistochemistry and Western blotting and the relationship be- tween its expression and injury time was observed. Results The expression of EIIIA+ fibronectin was not observed immediately. The basal cell of skin began to show positive expression 0.5 h after injury. With the extension of injury time, positive staining became stronger. The value of relative optical density was gradually increased with prolonged injury time by the Western blotting analysis. CONCLUSION The expression of EIIIA+ fibronectin could be used for estimation of injury time in the early stage of skin injury.
Animals ; Fibronectins/metabolism* ; Immunohistochemistry ; Proteins/metabolism* ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Skin/metabolism* ; Staining and Labeling ; Time Factors