Forensic Context

A study in humans demonstrated that the miR-205-5p is a saliva-specific marker, showing higher expression in saliva but also present in vaginal secretion, and it was used in combination with vaginal secretion markers for inference to successfully distinguish all five forensically relevant body fluids [Altmeyer et al. DOI:10.1002/elps.202400089]. Another human study found the miR-205-5p displayed higher abundance in vaginal secretions and menstrual blood compared to saliva and was not detected in venous blood, and a stepwise strategy combining it with other body fluid-specific miRNAs effectively differentiated saliva from other body fluids [Wang et al. DOI:10.1111/1556-4029.12730].