Forensic Context

A study in humans demonstrated that mir-135a-2 hsa-miR-135a-5p displays distinctly higher expression levels in semen compared to other forensically relevant body fluids, confirming its semen specificity [Sauer et al. DOI:10.1016/j.fsigen.2016.01.018]. Further research in humans showed that while this biomarker is highly abundant in normal semen, its expression is significantly down-regulated and dispersed in various infertile semen samples, including asthenospermia, oligospermia, and azoospermia [Tian et al. DOI:10.1016/j.fsigen.2017.12.010]. A study in rhesus macaques demonstrated that the mir-135a-2 was utilized as a feature in a three-group survival prediction model at Day 21 post-thoracic irradiation, achieving a 71% accuracy in forecasting whether an animal would die in less than 90 days, between 90 and 269 days, or survive the study [May et al. DOI:10.1038/s41598-022-16316-x]. In human seminal fluid, the mir-135a-2 showed a significant expression increase in asthenospermia and oligospermia samples but decreased expression in astheno-oligospermia and normal semen, indicating a specific pattern for distinguishing certain male infertility conditions [Mawlah et al. DOI:10.5455/aim.2022.30.205-212].