Forensic Context

A study in humans demonstrated that miR-143-5p, a high-abundance plasma exosomal miRNA, was downregulated in a pattern from healthy controls to coronary artery disease (CAD) to acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients [Guo et al. DOI:10.21037/atm-20-2337]. A study in humans demonstrated that the miR-143-5p is a menstrual blood-specific microRNA marker for forensic body fluid identification, showing a 10.14-fold higher expression in menstrual blood compared to peripheral blood in microarray screening and being confirmed by TaqMan RT-qPCR, where it distinguished menstrual blood from peripheral blood, semen, saliva, and vaginal secretions with detection possible from as low as 20 pg of total RNA [Li et al. DOI:10.1016/j.fsigen.2017.05.012]. miR-143-5p's expression, while variable across the menstrual cycle with some overlap in one day-5 sample, was validated in human samples and its application is noted within a broader review of ncRNA markers for forensic science [Li et al. DOI:10.1093/fsr/owad003].