Cathepsin D as a vitality marker in human skin wounds.

This paper shows the results obtained by studying the lysosomal enzyme Cathepsin D as a potential marker for the vitality of wounds in human specimens. We have analyzed 53 samples using enzymological and histological techniques. Our results show the ability of Cathepsin D to establish the vital origin of wounds inflicted 5 minutes or less before death, where the specific activity of cathepsin D reached 0.055 units at the wound edge and 0.01 units in their respective controls (P < 0.001). As previously demonstrated in an experimental series, Cathepsin D seems to be a very useful marker of high forensic interest in especially difficult cases. Further studies are in progress to check the influence of different factors such as drugs intake and clinical conditions on Cathepsin D activity.