TY - JOUR

T1 - Molecular signatures written in bone proteins of 79 AD victims from Herculaneum and Pompeii

T2 - [incl. correction]

AU - Ntasi, Georgia

AU - Rodriguez Palomo, Ismael

AU - Marino, Gennaro

AU - Piaz, Fabrizio Dal

AU - Sirano, Francesco

AU - Cappellini, Enrico

AU - Birolo, Leila

AU - Petrone, Pierpaolo

N1 - Author Correction: Molecular signatures written in bone proteins of 79 AD victims from Herculaneum and Pompeii DOI: Author Correction: Molecular signatures written in bone proteins of 79 AD victims from Herculaneum and Pompeii © 2022. The Author(s).

PY - 2022

Y1 - 2022

N2 - An extensive proteomic analysis was performed on a set of 12 bones of human victims of the eruption that in AD 79 rapidly buried Pompeii and Herculaneum, allowing the detection of molecular signatures imprinted in the surviving protein components. Bone collagen survived the heat of the eruption, bearing a piece of individual biological history encoded in chemical modifications. Here we show that the human bone proteomes from Pompeii are more degraded than those from the inhabitants of Herculaneum, despite the latter were exposed to temperatures much higher than those experienced in Pompeii. The analysis of the specimens from Pompeii shows lower content of non-collagenous proteins, higher deamidation level and higher extent of collagen modification. In Pompeii, the slow decomposition of victims' soft tissues in the natural dry-wet hydrogeological soil cycles damaged their bone proteome more than what was experienced at Herculaneum by the rapid vanishing of body tissues from intense heat, under the environmental condition of a permanent waterlogged burial context. Results herein presented are the first proteomic analyses of bones exposed to eruptive conditions, but also delivered encouraging results for potential biomarkers that might also impact future development of forensic bone proteomics.

AB - An extensive proteomic analysis was performed on a set of 12 bones of human victims of the eruption that in AD 79 rapidly buried Pompeii and Herculaneum, allowing the detection of molecular signatures imprinted in the surviving protein components. Bone collagen survived the heat of the eruption, bearing a piece of individual biological history encoded in chemical modifications. Here we show that the human bone proteomes from Pompeii are more degraded than those from the inhabitants of Herculaneum, despite the latter were exposed to temperatures much higher than those experienced in Pompeii. The analysis of the specimens from Pompeii shows lower content of non-collagenous proteins, higher deamidation level and higher extent of collagen modification. In Pompeii, the slow decomposition of victims' soft tissues in the natural dry-wet hydrogeological soil cycles damaged their bone proteome more than what was experienced at Herculaneum by the rapid vanishing of body tissues from intense heat, under the environmental condition of a permanent waterlogged burial context. Results herein presented are the first proteomic analyses of bones exposed to eruptive conditions, but also delivered encouraging results for potential biomarkers that might also impact future development of forensic bone proteomics.

KW - Bone and Bones

KW - Hot Temperature

KW - Humans

KW - Proteome

KW - Proteomics

KW - Volcanic Eruptions

UR - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-16362-5

U2 - 10.1038/s41598-022-12042-6

DO - 10.1038/s41598-022-12042-6

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 35624181

VL - 12

JO - Scientific Reports

JF - Scientific Reports

SN - 2045-2322

IS - 1

M1 - 8401

ER -