Study on detection of urinary spermine in cadaver

2003 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary

• Project/Area Number: 13470104
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Legal medicine
• Research Institution: Fukuoka University
• Principal Investigator: HARA Kenji Fukuoka University, School of Medicine, Lecturer, 医学部, 講師 (00090738)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): MIYOSHI Aya Fukuoka University, School of Medicine, Assistant, 医学部, 助手 (70309920) ; KASHIWAGI Masayuki Fukuoka University, School of Medicine, Assistant, 医学部, 助手 (70301687) ; KASHIMURA Seiichi Fukuoka University, School of Medicine, Professor, 医学部, 教授 (70004710)
• Project Period (FY): 2001 – 2003
• Keywords: spermine / polyamine / urinary analysis / cadaver urine / patient urine / HPLC / GC / MS / disease

Research Abstract

In our experience of stimulant drug test, we found detecting polyamines. Urinary detection of spermine, which plays very important roles in cell growth, occasionally in considerably high level attracted in our interest if the release of spermine affected any pathway of death. In this study, a rapid and. accurate quantitative analytical method for urinary polyamines was developed using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). By using high performance liquid chromatography with post-column derivatization on fluorescence detection (HPLC) and GC/MS, urinary spermine concentrations of cadavers in forensic medicine and patients in emergency and critical care hospital were measured for preliminary study. HPLC was performed by using amino acid analytical system commercially provided, and GC/MS was developed modifying with our amphetamine assay in which an extractive derivatization (heptafluorobutyrylation) was carried out in passing through an extracting tube filled with diatomaceous earth. Average of urinary spermine concentrations were considerably higher in male cadavers than in female ones. In comparison of cadavers and patients in urinary spermine levels, cadaver levels were relatively higher. Threshold levels for positive criterion were, for convenience sake, set at 80 nmol/mL for cadavers and-at 20 nmol/mL for patients. High scores of urinary spermine were only indicated in male cadavers with heart diseases, brain injuries and liver injuries, and in male patients mainly with adult arrest respiratory disease syndrome due to cardiac dysfunction, brain injuries, etc. These results suggest that there are some mechanisms in man releasing spermine before death.