Neurons in the vitrified brain of an AD 79 eruption victim.

A new study published by PLOS ONE, an authoritative American scientific journal, reveals the exceptional discovery of human neurons from a victim of the eruption that buried Herculaneum, Pompeii and the entire Vesuvian area in 79 A.D. up to 20 km away from the volcano.

The extraordinary discovery is all-Italian, the result of the prestigious work of forensic anthropologist Pier Paolo Petrone, head of the Laboratory of Human Osteobiology and Forensic Anthropology at the Departmental Section of Forensic Medicine at the University of Naples Federico II in collaboration with geologists, archaeologists, biologists, forensic scientists, neurogeneticists and mathematicians from national universities and research centers, who have achieved outstanding results despite the limitations imposed by Covid-19. "The discovery of brain tissue in ancient human remains is an unusual event," explains Petrone, team coordinator, "but what is extremely rare is the integral preservation of neuronal structures of a 2,000-year-old central nervous system, in our case at an unprecedented resolution.

The eruption, which caused the devastation of the Vesuvian area and the death of thousands of inhabitants, burying the city of Herculaneum in a few hours allowed the preservation of biological remains, including human ones. "The extraordinary discovery relied on the most advanced and innovative electron microscopy techniques of the Department of Science of the University of Roma Tre, an Italian excellence," explains Guido Giordano, professor of Volcanology at the Department of Science of the Roman Athenaeum, "where the perfectly preserved neuronal structures were made possible thanks to the conversion of human tissue into glass, which gives clear indications of the rapid cooling of the scorching volcanic ash that hit Herculaneum in the early stages of the eruption.

"The results of our study show that the unique eruption-induced vitrification process "froze" the cellular structures of this victim's central nervous system, preserving them intact to this day," Petrone adds.

Investigations into the victims of the eruption continue in sync across research fields. "The fusion of forensic anthropologist and medicolegal knowledge is yielding unique information that would otherwise be unobtainable," says Massimo Niola, full professor and director of the U.O.C. of Forensic Medicine at Federico II.

The study also analyzed data on some proteins already identified by researchers in a paper published last January in the New England Journal of Medicine. "One aspect of importance could concern the expression of genes encoding proteins isolated from vitrified human brain tissue," explains Giuseppe Castaldo, Principal Investigator of CEINGE and professor of Technical Sciences of Laboratory Medicine at the Federico II. "All of the gene transcripts we identified are present in the various districts of the brain such as, for example, the cerebral cortex, cerebellum or hypothalamus," adds Maria Giuseppina Miano, neurogeneticist at the "Adriano Buzzati-Traverso" Institute of Genetics and Biophysics of the CNR in Naples.

Investigations into the remains of the eruption victims do not stop there. These and other results of the bioanthropological and volcanological investigations underway at Herculaneum are gradually bringing to light details never before brought to light, which enrich the complex picture of events of the most notorious of Vesuvius' eruptions. "The extraordinary results obtained," concludes Francesco Sirano, director of the Archaeological Park of Herculaneum, "demonstrate the importance of the multidisciplinary studies conducted by researchers at the Federico II University and the uniqueness of this extraordinary site, once again in the international limelight with its priceless heritage of treasures and archaeological discoveries.

PLoSONE, a prestigious scientific journal at the international level, published the results of the study, which was carried out by the research team of anthropologist Pier Paolo Petrone, which includes Professor Massimo Niola (Forensic Medicine of the Federico II University of Naples), Professor Giuseppe Castaldo (CEINGE-Advanced Biotechnology of Naples) and Professor Guido Giordano (Roma Tre University), in collaboration with the Director of the Archaeological Park of Herculaneum, Francesco Sirano, along with other researchers from CNR Naples and the Universities Federico II of Naples, Roma Tre and Statale di Milano.

Pier Paolo Petrone is a forensic anthropologist and head of the Laboratory of Human Osteobiology and Forensic Anthropology at the Departmental Section of Forensic Medicine at the University of Naples Federico II, directed by Professor Massimo Niola ( pipetron@unina.it)

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