Forensic Context

A study in humans demonstrated that miR-188-3p is significantly upregulated in deep partial thickness burn skin four days post-injury compared to normal skin [Siu et al. DOI:10.1111/wrr.13100]. In a separate forensic investigation in humans, miR-188-3p was identified via miRNA-seq and validated by qPCR and ddPCR as a candidate for distinguishing monozygotic twins, showing the greatest heterogeneity with significant expression differences in all five initial and all five additional validation twin pairs [Wang et al. DOI:10.1016/j.fsigen.2025.103230]. A study in mice demonstrated that the miR-188-3p is significantly upregulated in antemortem burned skin compared to unburned and postmortem burned skin, establishing it as a specific molecular marker for the vital reaction in forensic burn diagnosis [Lyu et al. DOI: 10.4103/jfsm.jfsm_1_18].