Abstract
The intrapulmonary expression of aquaporin-5 (AQP5) was examined in an experimental drowning model and forensic autopsy cases to discuss the possibility for differentiation between freshwater drowning (FWD) and saltwater drowning (SWD). In animal experiments, mice were classified into four groups: (group I: FWD; group II: SWD; group III: postmortem immersion (PI); and group IV: cervical dislocation as controls. In group I, intrapulmonary AQP5 expression was significantly suppressed at both gene and protein levels, compared with the other three groups, and there was no significant difference in AQP5 expression among groups II to IV. In the next series, we examined AQP5 gene expression in human lung samples obtained from forensic autopsies at less than 48 h postmortem (nine FWD cases, five SWD cases, and 14 other cases). Although AQP5 mRNA could be detected in all lung samples under the employed experimental conditions, the intrapulmonary gene expression of AQP5 in FWD was significantly attenuated compared with the other groups. These observations imply that AQP5 expression in type I alveolar epithelial cells was suppressed by hypotonic water to prevent hemodilution from the physiological aspect. Moreover, the analysis of intrapulmonary AQP5 expression would be forensically useful for differentiation between FWD and SWD, or between FWD and PI.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Saukko P, Knight B (2004) Knight’s forensic pathology. Arnold, London, pp 395–411
Piette MH, De Letter EA (2005) Drowning: still a difficult autopsy diagnosis. Forensic Sci Int 63:1–9
Brinkmann B (2004) Tod im Wasser. In: Brinkmann B, Madea B (eds) Handbuh gerichtliche Medizin. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg, pp 797–818
Morild I (1995) Pleural effusion in drowning. Am J Forensic Med Pathol 16:253–256
Zhu BL, Quan L, Li DR, Taniguchi M, Kamikodai Y, Tsuda K, Fujita MQ, Tsuji T, Maeda H (2003) Postmortem lung weight in drowning: a comparison with acute asphyxiation and cardiac death. Legal Med 5:20–26
Reidbord HE, Spitz WU (1966) Ultrastructural alterations in rat lungs. Changes after intratracheal perfusion with freshwater and seawater. Arch Pathol 81:103–111
Brinkmann B, Fechner G, Püschel K (1983) Zur Ultrastrukturpathologie des Alveolarapparates beim experimentellen Ertrinken. Z Rechtsmed 91:47–60
Nopanitaya W, Gambill TG, Brinkhous KM (1974) Fresh water drowningPulmonary ultrastructure and systemic fibrinolysis. Arch Pathol 98:361–366
Swann HG, Spafford NR (1951) Body salt and water changes during fresh and sea water drowning. Tex Rep Biol Med 9:356–382
Azparren JE, Vallejo G, Reyes E, Herranz A, Snacho M (1998) Study of the diagnostic value of strontium, chloride, haemoglobin and diatoms in immersion cases. Forensic Sci Int 91:123–132
Lorente JA, Villanueva E, Hernández-Cueto C, Luna JD (1990) Plasmatic levels of atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) in drowningA pilot study. Forensic Sci Int 44:69–75
Grandmaison GL, Leterreux M, Lasseuguette K, Alvarez JC, Mazancourt P, Durigon M (2006) Study of the diagnostic value of iron in fresh water drowning. Forensic Sci Int 157:117–120
Azparren JE, Perucha E, Martinez P, Munoz R, Vallejo G (2006) Factors affecting strontium absorption in drownings. Forensic Sci Int 168:138–142
Brinkmann B, Hernandez MA, Karger B, Ortmann C (1997) Pulmonary myelomonocyte subtypes in drowning and other causes of death. Int J Legal Med 110:295–298
Zhu BL, Ishida K, Quan L, Li DR, Taniguchi M, Fujita MQ, Maeda H, Tsuji T (2002) Pulmonary immunohistochemistry and serum levels of a surfactant-associated protein A in fatal drowning. Legal Med 4:1–6
Verkman AS, Michael A, Matthay MA, Song Y (2000) Aquaporin water channels and lung physiology. Am J Physiol Cell Mol Physiol 278:867–879
King LS, Agre P (2001) Man is not a rodentAquaporins in the airways. Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol 24:221–223
Verkman AS (2002) Aquaporin water channels and endothelial cell function. J Anat 200:617–627
Verkman AS (2005) More than just water channels: unexpected cellular roles of aquaporins. J Cell Sci 118:3225–3232
Agre P (2006) The aquaporin water channels. Proc Am Thorac Soc 3:5–13
Hoffert JD, Leitch V, Agre P, King LS (2000) Hypertonic induction of aquaporin-5 expression through an ERK-dependent pathway. J Biol Chem 275:9070–9077
Locali RF, Almeida M, Oliveira-Junior IS (2006) Use of the histopathology in the differential diagnosis of drowning in fresh and salty water: an experimental model establishment in rats. Acta Cir Bras 21:203–206
Hayashi T, Ishida Y, Kimura A, Iwakura Y, Mukaida N, Kondo T (2007) IFN-gamma protects cerulein-induced acute pancreatitis by repressing NF-kappa B activation. J Immunol 178:7385–7394
Ishibashi K, Kuwahara M, Gu Y, Kageyama Y, Tohsaka A, Suzuki F, Marumo F, Sasaki S (1997) Cloning and functional expression of a new water channel abundantly expressed in the testis permeable to water, glycerol, and urea. J Biol Chem 272:20782–20786
Ishibashi K, Kuwahara M, Gu Y, Tanaka Y, Marumo F, Sasaki S (1998) Cloning and functional expression of a new aquaporin (AQP9) abundantly expressed in the peripheral leukocytes permeable to water and urea, but not to glycerol. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 244:268–274
Ma T, Song Y, Gillespie A, Carlson EJ, Epstein CJ, Verkman AS (1999) Defective secretion of saliva in transgenic mice lacking aquaporin-5 water channels. J Biol Chem 274:20071–20074
Ma T, Fukuda N, Song Y, Matthay MA, Verkman AS (2000) Lung fluid transport in aquaporin-5 knockout mice. J Clin Invest 105:93–100
Swann HG, Brucer M, Moore C (1947) Fresh water and sea water drowning: a study of the terminal cardiac and biochemical events. Tex Rep Biol Med 5:423–428
Swann HG, Brucer M (1949) The cardiorespiratory and biochemical events during rapid anoxic death. Fresh water and sea water drowning. Tex Rep Biol Med 7:604–618
Miyakawa H, Woo SK, Chen CP, Dahl SC, Handler JS, Kwon HM (1998) Cis- and trans-acting factors regulating transcription of the BGT1 gene in response to hypertonicity. Am J Physiol 274:753–761
Cohen DM, Wasserman JC, Gullans SR (1991) Immediate early gene and HSP70 expression in hyperosmotic stress in MDCK cells. Am J Physiol 261:594–601
Zubakov D, Hanekamp E, Kokshoorn M, van Ijcken W, Kayser M (2008) Stable RNA markers for identification of blood and saliva stains revealed from whole genome expression analysis of time-wise degraded samples. Int J Legal Med 122:135–142
Heinrich M, Matt K, Lutz-Bonengel S, Schmidt U (2007) Successful RNA extraction from various human postmortem tissues. Int J Legal Med 121:136–142
Takamiya M, Saigusa K, Kumagai R, Nakayashiki N, Aoki Y (2005) Studies on mRNA expression of tissue-type plasminogen activator in bruises for wound age estimation. Int J Legal Med 119:16–21
Ishida K, Zhu BL, Maeda H (2002) A quantitative RT-PCR assay of surfactant-associated protein A1 and A2 mRNA transcripts as a diagnostic tool for acute asphyxial death. Legal Med 4:7–12
Acknowledgments
We sincerely thank Ms. Mariko Kawaguchi for her excellent assistance in preparing this manuscript.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hayashi, T., Ishida, Y., Mizunuma, S. et al. Differential diagnosis between freshwater drowning and saltwater drowning based on intrapulmonary aquaporin-5 expression. Int J Legal Med 123, 7–13 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-008-0235-5
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-008-0235-5