Corneocyte lysis and fragmented DNA considerations for the cellular component of forensic touch DNA

TY - JOUR

T1 - Corneocyte lysis and fragmented DNA considerations for the cellular component of forensic touch DNA

AU - Burrill, Julia

AU - Rammenou, Elli

AU - Alawar, Fatima

AU - Daniel, Barbara

AU - Frascione, Nunzianda

N1 - Funding Information: This work was supported by the Fulbright-King's College London Partnership Award. Funding Information: This work was supported by the Fulbright-King’s College London Partnership Award . Publisher Copyright: © 2020 Elsevier B.V. Copyright: Copyright 2020 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.

PY - 2021/3

Y1 - 2021/3

N2 - DNA deposited by individuals’ hands is a routine part of forensic analysis, yet little is understood about the precise cellular contents left by handling. “Dead” skin cells known as corneocytes make up the majority of the cellular material left in touch deposits by people's hands but are known to lack nuclei, making their DNA content ambiguous. Here we measure DNA released from anucleate corneocytes following various lysis methods to determine how much DNA may be present in these cells and how best to recover it from inside the cornified envelope. We demonstrate that enhanced lysis methods using a reducing agent and longer incubation may be valuable for hand deposit samples. Corneocyte DNA can be characterized as highly degraded based on the quantification, STR profiling and fluorescence microscopy of the cells from freshly washed hands. Purification to target shorter DNA fragments is demonstrated. DNA from the washed corneocyte cells is shown to constitute the majority of recoverable DNA with these methods. We consider the use of new methods adapted to cornified cells and fragmented DNA for future research into this sample type

AB - DNA deposited by individuals’ hands is a routine part of forensic analysis, yet little is understood about the precise cellular contents left by handling. “Dead” skin cells known as corneocytes make up the majority of the cellular material left in touch deposits by people's hands but are known to lack nuclei, making their DNA content ambiguous. Here we measure DNA released from anucleate corneocytes following various lysis methods to determine how much DNA may be present in these cells and how best to recover it from inside the cornified envelope. We demonstrate that enhanced lysis methods using a reducing agent and longer incubation may be valuable for hand deposit samples. Corneocyte DNA can be characterized as highly degraded based on the quantification, STR profiling and fluorescence microscopy of the cells from freshly washed hands. Purification to target shorter DNA fragments is demonstrated. DNA from the washed corneocyte cells is shown to constitute the majority of recoverable DNA with these methods. We consider the use of new methods adapted to cornified cells and fragmented DNA for future research into this sample type

KW - Cell lysis

KW - Corneocytes

KW - Cornified envelope

KW - DNA degradation

KW - Forensic DNA

KW - Fragmented DNA

KW - Skin cells

KW - Touch DNA

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85097784882&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.fsigen.2020.102428

DO - 10.1016/j.fsigen.2020.102428

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85097784882

SN - 1872-4973

VL - 51

JO - Forensic Science International: Genetics

JF - Forensic Science International: Genetics

M1 - 102428

ER -