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Estimation of wound age and VCAM-1 in human skin

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Abstract

To estimate the age of skin wounds, the endothelial adhesion molecule VCAM-1 (CD 106) was detected in paraffin sections after autoclaving and using the ABC technique. The percentage of VCAM-1 positive blood vessels was determined after the blood vessels had been marked with PECAM-1 (CD 31). Low positive staining reactions were observed for VCAM-1 on endothelial cells of uninjured skin in 18% of the samples. In injured skin, 51% of the cases investigated showed a VCAM-1 expression. Strong positive staining reactions were observed 3 h at the earliest and 3.5 days at the latest after the time of injury. The immunohistochemical results for VCAM-1 differed significantly between the injured and uninjured skin (P < 0.01). In a few cases VCAM-1 was detected (n = 6) at low intensity in postmortem skin wounds and a moderate to strong expression of VCAM-1 is indicative of the vitality of the wound. The detection of VCAM-1 can be used for estimating the age of wounds in forensic applications if the degree of expression of further adhesion molecules, especially that of selectins, is taken into account.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Legal Medicine, Technical University Medical School, Fetscherstrasse 74, D-01307 Dresden, Germany Fax +49-351-458-4325, , , , , , DE

    J. Dreßler & E. Müller

  2. Department of Surgery, Technical University Medical School, Fetscherstrasse 74, D-01307 Dresden, Germany, , , , , , DE

    L. Bachmann

  3. Department for Medical Informatics and Biometrics, Technical University Medical School, Fetscherstrasse 74, D-01307 Dresden, Germany, , , , , , DE

    R. Koch

Authors
  1. J. Dreßler
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  2. L. Bachmann
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  3. R. Koch
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  4. E. Müller
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Additional information

Received: 8 April 1998 / Received in revised form: 15 July 1998

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Dreßler, J., Bachmann, L., Koch, R. et al. Estimation of wound age and VCAM-1 in human skin. Int J Leg Med 112, 159–162 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1007/s004140050223

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s004140050223

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