Abstract
Age estimation based on evidence found in teeth has received considerable attention within the field of forensic science. We determined the terminal restriction fragment (TRF) length, as telomere length, to estimate age. Using dental pulp DNA we found the average TRF length showed a tendency to shortening with aging. Our findings show that telomere shortening, based on dental pulp DNA is a new and useful approach to estimate age of the subject at the time of death.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Acil Y, Springer ING, Prasse JG, Hedderich J, Jepsen S (2002) Concentration of collagen cross-links in human dentin bears no relation to the individual age. Int J Legal Med 116:340–343
Baccino E, Ubelaker DH, Hayek LC, Zerilli A (1999) Evaluation of seven methods of estimating age at death from mature human skeletal remains. J Forensic Sci 44:931–936
Foti B, Adalian P, Signoli M, Ardagna Y, Dutour O, Leonetti G (2001) Limits of the Lamendin method in age determination. Forensic Sci Int 122:101–106
Gustafson G (1950) Age determinations on teeth. J Am Dent Assoc 41:45–54
Harley CB, Futcher AB, Greider CW (1990) Telomeres shorten during ageing of human fibroblasts. Nature 345:458–460
Hastie ND, Dempster M, Dunlop MG, Thompson AM, Green DK, Allshire RC (1990) Telomere reduction in human colorectal carcinoma and with ageing. Nature 346:866–86
Kvaal SI, Kolltveit KM, Thomsen IO, Solheim T (1995) Age estimation of adults from dental radiographs. Forensic Sci Int 74:175–185
Lamendin H, Baccino E, Humbert JF, Tavernier JC, Nossintchouk RM, Zerilli A (1992) A simple technique for age estimation in adult corpses: the two criteria dental method. J Forensic Sci 37:1373–1379
Martin-de las Heras S, Valenzuela A, Villanueva E (1999) Deoxypridinoline crosslinks in human dentin and estimation of age. Int J Legal Med 112:222–226
Moyzis RK, Buckingham JM, Cram LS et al. (1988) A highly conserved repetitive DNA sequence, (TTAGGG)n, present at the telomeres of human chromosomes. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 85:6622–6626
Mönstad H, Pfeifffer H, Teivens A (1994) Estimation of dental age using HPLC-technique to determine the degree of aspartic acid racemization. J Forensic Sci 39:1425–1431
Ohtani S (2002) Technical notes for age estimation using the femur: influence of various analytical conditions on D-aspartic acid contents. Int J Legal Med 116:361–364
Pfeiffer H, Hühne J, Seitz B, Brinkmann B (1999) Influence of soil storage and exposure period on DNA recovery from teeth. Int J Legal Med 112:142–144
Ritz-Timme S, Cattaneo C, Collins MJ, Waite ER, Schütz HW, Kaatsch H-J (2000) Age estimation: the state of the art in relation to the specific demands of forensic practise. Int J Legal Med 113:129–136
Smith BC, Fisher DL, Weedn VW, Warnock GR, Holland MM (1993) A systematic approach to the sampling of dental DNA. J Forensic Sci 38:1194–1209
Solheim T, Sundnes PK (1980) Dental age estimation of Norwegian adults. A comparison of different methods. Forensic Sci Int 16:7–17
Sweet DJ, Sweet CHW (1995) DNA analysis of dental pulp to link incinerated remains of homicide victim to crime scene. J Forensic Sci 40:310–314
Tsuji A, Ishiko A, Takasaki T, Ikeda N (2002) Estimating age of humans based on telomere shortening. Forensic Sci Int 126:197–199
Zakian VA (1995) Telomeres: beginning to understand the end. Science 270:1601–1607
Acknowledgments
We are indebted to M. Ohara for critical reading of the manuscript.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Takasaki, T., Tsuji, A., Ikeda, N. et al. Age estimation in dental pulp DNA based on human telomere shortening. Int J Legal Med 117, 232–234 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-003-0376-5
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-003-0376-5