Thank you all for your thoughts on this question. I haven't found anything 
more enlightening on the web searches I've done so far. However, I will 
continue searching and will let you know if and when I find some thing 
exciting (aside from the strange but interesting nuggets that one always 
happens across in these searches on tissue death after death).

Thanks again
Yak-Nam

>   Many years ago (I hate beginning my responses like that but it is true) 
> several colleagues were able to get viable human retinal pigment epithelial 
> cells more than 48 hours after death. Also, I know of viable olfactory 
> (sensory) epithelial cells being harvested 24 hours after death. Of course, 
> ambient temperature is a likely variable and not all cells die at the same 
> time. I would think that the adipose tissue in the hypodermis would have a 
> relatively slow metabolic rate and might be viable for 24 hours? You have 
> little to lose by trying.
>
> Geoff
>
> Rogerson Kemlo (ELHT) Pathology wrote:
>
>> Interestingly I was reading about tissue death after death (so as to
>> speak) on a Web Site dealing with Death (I'm strange like that); I was
>> interested in rigor. I hadn't realised that some tissue deep within the
>> cadaver can survive for many hours after death. I suppose it's those
>> tissues that require little or no oxygen to survive; brain dies very
>> rapidly. If I could remember the Site then I'd tell you but a search in
>> Google under rigor may help. Wonder which bit of you dies last? Same in
>> men and women?
>> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Y. Wang [mailto:ynwang@u.washington.edu] Sent: 20 July 2005 00:20
>> To: Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu
>> Subject: [Histonet] postmortem tissue collection
>> 
>> Dear histonetters,
>> 
>> I have a question regarding collection of human tissue. A colleague
>> would like to collect human tissue (skin and underlying adipose tissue) for 
>> mechanical testing, histological analysis (cellular and structural 
>> evaluation), IHC and protein analysis (extracellular matrix structure
>> and concentrations). They asked what would be a fair cut off time for 
>> tissue
>> 
>> collection so that the effects of decay would not be a factor. Currently
>> 
>> they have given the tissue bank a time of 12 hours postmortem (I'm not very 
>> sure how the body is stored during this time or how this is calculated).
>> 
>> I've read that human decomposition starts approx. 4 min after death and 
>> autolysis is quicker in tissues with high enzyme and water content. 
>> However, in terms of the skin and underlying adipose tissue I didn't
>> know if there was an accepted 'cut off time' postmortem after which tissue 
>> is considered far from representative of 'live' tissue and not worth 
>> analysis.
>> 
>> Can anyone give some insight? Any information or references would be 
>> greatly appreciated.
>> 
>> Thank you
>> Yak-Nam
>> 
>> Senior Fellow
>> Department of Bioengineering
>> University of Washington
>> Box 357962
>> Seattle, WA 98195
>> 
>> Tel.: (206)-221-5873
>> Fax.: (206)-221-5874
>> 
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>> 
>
>
> -- 
> --
> **********************************************
> Geoff McAuliffe, Ph.D.
> Neuroscience and Cell Biology
> Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
> 675 Hoes Lane, Piscataway, NJ 08854
> voice: (732)-235-4583; fax: -4029 mcauliff@umdnj.edu
> **********************************************
>
>
>

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