Defense Date
2025
Document Type
Directed Research Project
First Advisor
Dr. Sarah Williams
Second Advisor
Dr. Christohper Ehrhardt
Third Advisor
Dr. J Paul Brooks
Fourth Advisor
Xiaomeng Yang MS
Abstract
miRNA interference on protein abundance related to glucose uptake and lipid production has been evaluated in biomedical research and linked to metabolic disorders like severe obesity. The direct regulation of protein abundance caused by miRNAs on a person’s metabolism can lead to an increased weight and overall size. Body size, measured by BMI, provides additional physical descriptions that can be combined with hair color, eye color, age, and skin pigment to aid investigations of unidentified remains or unknown suspects not found in a database. The purpose of this project was to evaluate the miRNA expression of target biomarkers in dried whole blood and saliva samples from 100 donors in conjunction with body composition data. Samples underwent DNA extraction, reverse transcription, and quantitation to identify trends between miRNA expression and donor BMI and body weight. Of the eight miRNA biomarkers tested, the trends identified from miR-145-5p and let-7i-5p Cq values in the blood samples for BMI and body weight provided more reliable data for prediction model development. The quantitation results from donor blood samples were statistically evaluated through pairwise t-tests. A preliminary prediction model selected the correct bodyweight class with an accuracy slightly higher than at random. The miRNAs tested during this research showed no correlation between expression levels and BMI or body weight in saliva samples. Additional sampling and evaluation of miRNA related to metabolic processes are needed to form a more reliable body weight prediction model for unidentified remains and unknown suspect identification.
Rights
© The Author(s)
Is Part Of
VCU Master of Science in Forensic Science Directed Research Projects
Date of Submission
4-16-2025
Included in
Cell Biology Commons, Forensic Biology Commons, Forensic Science and Technology Commons, Molecular Genetics Commons
