I was wondering about the viability of brain tissue after death. What I read is that brain tissue remains viable even 12-24 hours after death. But will the proteins in brain tissue and more importantly RNA be degraded after death of the subjects as I want to utilize RNA from the brain tissue collected at the time of autopsy, for gene expression studies.
Hi, especially if you are looking for gene expression patterns you should consider that typical post mortem changes like tissue acidosis and hypoxia will have an enormous impact, which occur within minutes after death (especially in hot climates). Even post mortem intervals of 3-4h (which are difficult to realize in human subjects) can be critical for such studies, which are a logistic challenge. The mode of dying (after long agony or rapid e.g. in an accident or suicide) will also profoundly affect gene expression. It will be essential to have access to proper controls and to carefully select housekeeping genes as an internal control. I wish you good luck!
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