Insights on the Differential Preservation of Bone Proteomes in Inhumated and Entombed Cadavers from Italian Forensic Caseworks

Bone is a long-lasting biological tissue often used in forensic investigations as it retains vital biomolecular information commonly used for identification purposes. Bone proteins have attracted interest for their potential in estimating post-mortem interval (PMI) and age-at-death (AAD). However, the preservation of such proteins is highly dependent on intrinsic and extrinsic factors, and these have an impact in the potential application of molecular techniques to forensic sciences. The present study aims at investigating the effect that two commonly used types of burial practices (entombment and inhumation) have on bone protein survival. The sample consists in 14 exhumed individuals from cemeteries in south of Italy at with different AADs (29-85 yeas) and PMIs (1-37 years). LC-MS/MS analyses show that 16 proteins are better preserved in the entombed condition and four in the inhumated one, while no clear cluster separation is detected with principal component analysis. Besides the different burial environments, several potential protein markers are identified for PMI and AAD estimation. Overall, preliminary results show that the two burial environments seem to play a marginal role in the differential preservation of non-collagenous proteins and in the accumulation of post-translational modifications, confirming the potential of LC-MS/MS based proteomics in forensic sciences.