[A study on the relationship between the degradation of protein and the postmortem interval].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the degradation of actin and tubulin in the liver tissue of rats after death and to find an objective indicator of the postmortem interval (PMI).
METHODS: Female rats were killed under anesthesia by ether and incubated at 21 degrees C in a temperature controlled system to simulate postmortem changes for 18 days postmortem. Protein in the hepatic tissue was extracted, actin and tubulin were then examined by western blot. Thereafter, the semi-quantitative analysis of the image of western blot was performed.
RESULTS: Actin in the liver tissue of rats could be detected at 8 days postmortem, but could not be examined after 10 days postmortem. beta-tubulin rather than alpha-tubulin could be examined after 2 days postmortem, and beta-tubulin could not be examined at 4 days postmortem.
CONCLUSION: There is some difference in the degradation between actin and tubulin, their different preservation period postmortem may be used as a parameter for PMI estimation.