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Published in: International Journal of Legal Medicine 2/2024

28-09-2023 | Review

Research progress and potential application of microRNA and other non-coding RNAs in forensic medicine

Authors: Binghui Song, Jie Qian, Junjiang Fu

Published in: International Journal of Legal Medicine | Issue 2/2024

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Abstract

At present, epigenetic markers have been extensively studied in various fields and have a high value in forensic medicine due to their unique mode of inheritance, which does not involve DNA sequence alterations. As an epigenetic phenomenon that plays an important role in gene expression, non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) act as key factors mediating gene silencing, participating in cell division, and regulating immune response and other important biological processes. With the development of molecular biology, genetics, bioinformatics, and next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology, ncRNAs such as microRNA (miRNA), circular RNA (circRNA), long non-coding RNA (lncRNA), and P-element induced wimpy testis (PIWI)-interacting RNA (piRNA) are increasingly been shown to have potential in the practice of forensic medicine. NcRNAs, mainly miRNA, may provide new strategies and methods for the identification of tissues and body fluids, cause-of-death analysis, time-related estimation, age estimation, and the identification of monozygotic twins. In this review, we describe the research progress and application status of ncRNAs, mainly miRNA, and other ncRNAs such as circRNA, lncRNA, and piRNA, in forensic practice, including the identification of tissues and body fluids, cause-of-death analysis, time-related estimation, age estimation, and the identification of monozygotic twins. The close links between ncRNAs and forensic medicine are presented, and their research values and application prospects in forensic medicine are also discussed.
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Metadata
Title
Research progress and potential application of microRNA and other non-coding RNAs in forensic medicine
Authors
Binghui Song
Jie Qian
Junjiang Fu
Publication date
28-09-2023
Publisher
Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Published in
International Journal of Legal Medicine / Issue 2/2024
Print ISSN: 0937-9827
Electronic ISSN: 1437-1596
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-023-03091-1

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