The heart in neuromuscular disease: primary mitochondrial diseases

ESC CardioMed ◽  
2018 ◽  
pp. 1528-1530
Author(s):  
Denis Duboc

Mitochondria are responsible for energy production in most eukaryotic cells. Each cell contains at least one mitochondrion and every mitochondrion contains two to ten copies of a circular DNA molecule (mitochondrial DNA or mtDNA). Cardiomyocytes contain approximately 10,000 mtDNA copies. MtDNA is composed of around 16,500 base pairs and 37 genes encoding 13 subunits of the respiratory chain complexes I, III, IV, and V, 22 mitochondrial tRNAs and 2 rRNAs. With each cell division, mitochondria and mtDNA are randomly distributed to daughter cells. In humans, mitochondria are inherited exclusively from the mother. In healthy people mtDNA copies are usually identical at birth (homoplasmy) but with ageing, mtDNA is particularly prone to somatic mutation because, unlike nuclear DNA, it is continuously replicated, even in non-dividing tissues such as myocardium. This can lead to the propagation of somatic mutations within single cells by a process called clonal expansion. In addition, mtDNA lacks an extensive DNA repair mechanism.

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sinda Zarrouk Mahjoub ◽  
Sounira Mehri ◽  
Fatma Ourda ◽  
Josef Finsterer ◽  
Saïda Ben Arab

Background. Previously it has been shown that various types of hypertrophic and dilative cardiomyopathy (hCMP, dCMP) can be attributed to disturbed mitochondrial oxidative energy metabolism. Several studies described mutations in mitochondrial DNA-located genes encoding for subunits of respiratory chain complexes, including the cytochrome b gene (MT-CYB), causing CMPs. Methods and Results. In the present study the MT-CYB gene was analysed in 30 patients with hCMP, 40 patients with dCMP, and 50 controls for alterations. Altogether, 27 MT-CYB variants were detected. Twenty-four of them were single nucleotide polymorphisms defining common haplogroups. The variant m.15434C>A was found in a single patient with severe dCMP and assessed as novel mutation, since it was not found in healthy controls or available data sets, and was nonhaplogroup associated with Phylotree. This variant altered an amino acid (L230I) with a high interspecific amino acid conservation index (CI=97.7%) indicative of the functional importance of the residue. Conclusions. Though the L230I mutation seems to play a causative role for dCMP, prospective studies on yeast or transgenic mice models with defined mutation are warranted to study the pathogenetic impact of this mutation.


Genetics ◽  
1983 ◽  
Vol 104 (4) ◽  
pp. 699-711
Author(s):  
R L Cann ◽  
A C Wilson

ABSTRACT By high-resolution, restriction mapping of mitochondrial DNAs purified from 112 human individuals, we have identified 14 length variants caused by small additions and deletions (from about 6 to 14 base pairs in length). Three of the 14 length differences are due to mutations at two locations within the D loop, whereas the remaining 11 occur at seven sites that are probably within other noncoding sequences and at junctions between coding sequences. In five of the nine regions of length polymorphism, there is a sequence of five cytosines in a row, this sequence being comparatively rare in coding DNA. Phylogenetic analysis indicates that, in most of the polymorphic regions, a given length mutation has arisen several times independently in different human lineages. The average rate at which length mutations have been arising and surviving in the human species is estimated to be many times higher for noncoding mtDNA than for noncoding nuclear DNA. The mystery of why vertebrate mtDNA is more prone than nuclear DNA to evolve by point mutation is now compounded by the discovery of a similar bias toward rapid evolution by length mutation.


2020 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tongling Liufu ◽  
Zhaoxia Wang

AbstractMitochondrial diseases are predominantly caused by mutations of mitochondrial or nuclear DNA, resulting in multisystem defects. Current treatments are largely supportive, and the disorders progress relentlessly. Nutritional supplements, pharmacological agents and physical therapies have been used in different clinical trials, but the efficacy of these interventions need to be further evaluated. Several recent reviews discussed some of the interventions but ignored bias in those trials. This review was conducted to discover new studies and grade the original studies for potential bias with revised Cochrane Collaboration guidelines. We focused on seven published studies and three unpublished studies; eight of these studies showed improvement in outcome measurements. In particular, two of the interventions have been tested in studies with strict design, which we believe deserve further clinical trials with a large sample. Additionally, allotopic expression of the ND4 subunit seemed to be an effective new treatment for patients with Leber hereditary optic neuropathy.


2015 ◽  
Vol 112 (31) ◽  
pp. E4236-E4245 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jinsuk Kang ◽  
Matthias Lienhard ◽  
William A. Pastor ◽  
Ashu Chawla ◽  
Mark Novotny ◽  
...  

Dioxygenases of the TET (Ten-Eleven Translocation) family produce oxidized methylcytosines, intermediates in DNA demethylation, as well as new epigenetic marks. Here we show data suggesting that TET proteins maintain the consistency of gene transcription. Embryos lacking Tet1 and Tet3 (Tet1/3 DKO) displayed a strong loss of 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) and a concurrent increase in 5-methylcytosine (5mC) at the eight-cell stage. Single cells from eight-cell embryos and individual embryonic day 3.5 blastocysts showed unexpectedly variable gene expression compared with controls, and this variability correlated in blastocysts with variably increased 5mC/5hmC in gene bodies and repetitive elements. Despite the variability, genes encoding regulators of cholesterol biosynthesis were reproducibly down-regulated in Tet1/3 DKO blastocysts, resulting in a characteristic phenotype of holoprosencephaly in the few embryos that survived to later stages. Thus, TET enzymes and DNA cytosine modifications could directly or indirectly modulate transcriptional noise, resulting in the selective susceptibility of certain intracellular pathways to regulation by TET proteins.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 551
Author(s):  
Luis Sendra ◽  
Alfredo García-Mares ◽  
María José Herrero ◽  
Salvador F. Aliño

Background: Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) diseases are a group of maternally inherited genetic disorders caused by a lack of energy production. Currently, mtDNA diseases have a poor prognosis and no known cure. The chance to have unaffected offspring with a genetic link is important for the affected families, and mitochondrial replacement techniques (MRTs) allow them to do so. MRTs consist of transferring the nuclear DNA from an oocyte with pathogenic mtDNA to an enucleated donor oocyte without pathogenic mtDNA. This paper aims to determine the efficacy, associated risks, and main ethical and legal issues related to MRTs. Methods: A bibliographic review was performed on the MEDLINE and Web of Science databases, along with searches for related clinical trials and news. Results: A total of 48 publications were included for review. Five MRT procedures were identified and their efficacy was compared. Three main risks associated with MRTs were discussed, and the ethical views and legal position of MRTs were reviewed. Conclusions: MRTs are an effective approach to minimizing the risk of transmitting mtDNA diseases, but they do not remove it entirely. Global legal regulation of MRTs is required.


2014 ◽  
Vol 205 (4) ◽  
pp. 511-524 ◽  
Author(s):  
Markus Hildenbeutel ◽  
Eric L. Hegg ◽  
Katharina Stephan ◽  
Steffi Gruschke ◽  
Brigitte Meunier ◽  
...  

Mitochondrial respiratory chain complexes convert chemical energy into a membrane potential by connecting electron transport with charge separation. Electron transport relies on redox cofactors that occupy strategic positions in the complexes. How these redox cofactors are assembled into the complexes is not known. Cytochrome b, a central catalytic subunit of complex III, contains two heme bs. Here, we unravel the sequence of events in the mitochondrial inner membrane by which cytochrome b is hemylated. Heme incorporation occurs in a strict sequential process that involves interactions of the newly synthesized cytochrome b with assembly factors and structural complex III subunits. These interactions are functionally connected to cofactor acquisition that triggers the progression of cytochrome b through successive assembly intermediates. Failure to hemylate cytochrome b sequesters the Cbp3–Cbp6 complex in early assembly intermediates, thereby causing a reduction in cytochrome b synthesis via a feedback loop that senses hemylation of cytochrome b.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document