scholarly journals Segregation of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) in human oocytes and in animal models of mtDNA disease: clinical implications

Reproduction ◽  
2002 ◽  
pp. 751-755 ◽  
Author(s):  
J Poulton ◽  
DR Marchington
Keyword(s):  
Mitochondrial Dna ◽  
Antenatal Diagnosis ◽  
Mitochondrial Diseases ◽  
Management Options ◽  
Mtdna Mutations ◽  
Mendelian Disorders ◽  
Leigh’S Syndrome ◽  
Normal Individuals ◽  
Substantial Progress ◽  
Chorionic Villous Sampling

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is almost entirely maternally inherited. Thousands of copies of mtDNA are present in every nucleated cell and in most normal individuals these are virtually identical (homoplasmy). mtDNA diseases may be caused by mutations in either mitochondrial or nuclear genes and, hence, give rise to maternal or autosomal patterns of inheritance. Antenatal diagnosis of mitochondrial diseases based on chorionic villous sampling is available for Mendelian disorders and the syndromes caused by mutations at bp 8993 (associated with Leigh's syndrome and neurogenic weakness, ataxia and retinitis pigmentosa (NARP)). However, prenatal diagnosis of many other maternally inherited mtDNA diseases is less reliable because it is not possible to predict with confidence the way in which heteroplasmic mtDNA mutations segregate within tissues and find clinical expression. This review focuses on the substantial progress in genetics that has been made recently, and on the management options that clinicians can offer to families.

scholarly journals Bottleneck and selection in the germline and maternal age influence transmission of mitochondrial DNA in human pedigrees

2019 ◽  
Vol 116 (50) ◽  
pp. 25172-25178 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arslan A. Zaidi ◽  
Peter R. Wilton ◽  
Marcia Shu-Wei Su ◽  
Ian M. Paul ◽  
Barbara Arbeithuber ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mitochondrial Dna ◽  
De Novo ◽  
Mitochondrial Diseases ◽  
Clinical Genetics ◽  
De Novo Mutations ◽  
Germline Development ◽  
Older Mothers ◽  
Somatic Development ◽  
Mtdna Mutations ◽  
Mother’S Age

Heteroplasmy—the presence of multiple mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplotypes in an individual—can lead to numerous mitochondrial diseases. The presentation of such diseases depends on the frequency of the heteroplasmic variant in tissues, which, in turn, depends on the dynamics of mtDNA transmissions during germline and somatic development. Thus, understanding and predicting these dynamics between generations and within individuals is medically relevant. Here, we study patterns of heteroplasmy in 2 tissues from each of 345 humans in 96 multigenerational families, each with, at least, 2 siblings (a total of 249 mother–child transmissions). This experimental design has allowed us to estimate the timing of mtDNA mutations, drift, and selection with unprecedented precision. Our results are remarkably concordant between 2 complementary population-genetic approaches. We find evidence for a severe germline bottleneck (7–10 mtDNA segregating units) that occurs independently in different oocyte lineages from the same mother, while somatic bottlenecks are less severe. We demonstrate that divergence between mother and offspring increases with the mother’s age at childbirth, likely due to continued drift of heteroplasmy frequencies in oocytes under meiotic arrest. We show that this period is also accompanied by mutation accumulation leading to more de novo mutations in children born to older mothers. We show that heteroplasmic variants at intermediate frequencies can segregate for many generations in the human population, despite the strong germline bottleneck. We show that selection acts during germline development to keep the frequency of putatively deleterious variants from rising. Our findings have important applications for clinical genetics and genetic counseling.

scholarly journals Mitochondrial DNA editing in mice with DddA-TALE fusion deaminases

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyunji Lee ◽  
Seonghyun Lee ◽  
Gayoung Baek ◽  
Annie Kim ◽  
Beum-Chang Kang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mitochondrial Dna ◽  
Nadh Dehydrogenase ◽  
Stop Codon ◽  
Mitochondrial Gene ◽  
Premature Stop Codon ◽  
Mitochondrial Diseases ◽  
Transcription Activator ◽  
Mtdna Mutations ◽  
A Subunit ◽  
Dna Editing

AbstractDddA-derived cytosine base editors (DdCBEs), composed of the split interbacterial toxin DddAtox, transcription activator-like effector (TALE), and uracil glycosylase inhibitor (UGI), enable targeted C-to-T base conversions in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). Here, we demonstrate highly efficient mtDNA editing in mouse embryos using custom-designed DdCBEs. We target the mitochondrial gene, MT-ND5 (ND5), which encodes a subunit of NADH dehydrogenase that catalyzes NADH dehydration and electron transfer to ubiquinone, to obtain several mtDNA mutations, including m.G12918A associated with human mitochondrial diseases and m.C12336T that incorporates a premature stop codon, creating mitochondrial disease models in mice and demonstrating a potential for the treatment of mitochondrial disorders.

scholarly journals Mitochondrial DNA mutations in disease and aging

2011 ◽  
Vol 193 (5) ◽  
pp. 809-818 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chan Bae Park ◽  
Nils-Göran Larsson
Keyword(s):  
Mitochondrial Dna ◽  
Oxidative Phosphorylation ◽  
Molecular Level ◽  
Mitochondrial Diseases ◽  
Mitochondrial Genetics ◽  
Replication Errors ◽  
Mtdna Mutations ◽  
Accumulated Damage ◽  
Dna Mutations ◽  
Human Pathology

The small mammalian mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is very gene dense and encodes factors critical for oxidative phosphorylation. Mutations of mtDNA cause a variety of human mitochondrial diseases and are also heavily implicated in age-associated disease and aging. There has been considerable progress in our understanding of the role for mtDNA mutations in human pathology during the last two decades, but important mechanisms in mitochondrial genetics remain to be explained at the molecular level. In addition, mounting evidence suggests that most mtDNA mutations may be generated by replication errors and not by accumulated damage.

scholarly journals DNA Polymerase Gamma in Mitochondrial DNA Replication and Repair

2003 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 34-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
William C. Copeland ◽  
Matthew J. Longley
Keyword(s):  
Mitochondrial Dna ◽  
Dna Polymerase ◽  
Mitochondrial Diseases ◽  
Polymerase Activity ◽  
Catalytic Subunit ◽  
Animal Cells ◽  
Repair Synthesis ◽  
Mtdna Mutations ◽  
Tissue Degeneration ◽  
Dna Repair Synthesis

Mutations in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) are associated with aging, and they can cause tissue degeneration and neuromuscular pathologies known as mitochondrial diseases. Because DNA polymerase γ (pol γ) is the enzyme responsible for replication and repair of mitochondrial DNA, the burden of faithful duplication of mitochondrial DNA, both in preventing spontaneous errors and in DNA repair synthesis, falls on pol γ. Investigating the biological functions of pol γ and its inhibitors aids our understanding of the sources of mtDNA mutations. In animal cells, pol γ is composed of two subunits, a larger catalytic subunit of 125–140 kDa and second subunit of 35–55 kDa. The catalytic subunit contains DNA polymerase activity, 3’-5’ exonuclease activity, and a 5’-dRP lyase activity. The accessory subunit is required for highly processive DNA synthesis and increases the affinity of pol gamma to the DNA.

scholarly journals Human Mitochondrial RNA Processing and Modifications: Overview

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (15) ◽  
pp. 7999
Author(s):  
Marta Jedynak-Slyvka ◽  
Agata Jabczynska ◽  
Roman J. Szczesny
Keyword(s):  
Rna Processing ◽  
Mitochondrial Diseases ◽  
Mitochondrial Rna ◽  
Mtdna Mutations ◽  
Current State ◽  
Substantial Progress ◽  
Eukaryotic Organisms ◽  
Almost All ◽  
Adenosine Triphosphate Production ◽  
Made In

Mitochondria, often referred to as the powerhouses of cells, are vital organelles that are present in almost all eukaryotic organisms, including humans. They are the key energy suppliers as the site of adenosine triphosphate production, and are involved in apoptosis, calcium homeostasis, and regulation of the innate immune response. Abnormalities occurring in mitochondria, such as mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations and disturbances at any stage of mitochondrial RNA (mtRNA) processing and translation, usually lead to severe mitochondrial diseases. A fundamental line of investigation is to understand the processes that occur in these organelles and their physiological consequences. Despite substantial progress that has been made in the field of mtRNA processing and its regulation, many unknowns and controversies remain. The present review discusses the current state of knowledge of RNA processing in human mitochondria and sheds some light on the unresolved issues.

Do mitochondrial DNA mutations play the key role in chronification of sterile inflammation? Special focus on atherosclerosis

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander N. Orekhov ◽  
Elena V. Gerasimova ◽  
Vasily N. Sukhorukov ◽  
Anastasia V. Poznyak ◽  
Nikita G. Nikiforov
Keyword(s):  
Innate Immunity ◽  
Mitochondrial Dna ◽  
Low Density Lipoprotein ◽  
Atherosclerotic Lesion ◽  
Density Lipoprotein ◽  
Sterile Inflammation ◽  
Special Focus ◽  
Mitochondrial Dysfunctions ◽  
Mtdna Mutations ◽  
Dna Mutations

Background: The elucidation of mechanisms implicated in the chronification of inflammation is able to shed the light on the pathogenesis of disorders that are responsible for the majority of the incidence of disease and deaths, and also causes of ageing. Atherosclerosis is an example of the most significant inflammatory pathology. The inflammatory response of innate immunity is implicated in the development of atherosclerosis arising locally or focally. Modified low-density lipoprotein (LDL) was regarded as the trigger for this response. No atherosclerotic changes in the arterial wall occur due to the quick decrease in inflammation rate. Nonetheless, the atherosclerotic lesion formation can be a result of the chronification of local inflammation, which, in turn, is caused by alteration of the response of innate immunity. Objective: In this review, we discussed potential mechanisms of the altered response of the immunity in atherosclerosis with a particular emphasis on mitochondrial dysfunctions. Conclusion: A few mitochondrial dysfunctions can be caused by the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations. Moreover, mtDNA mutations were found to affect the development of defective mitophagy. Modern investigations have demonstrated the controlling mitophagy function in the response of the immune system. Therefore, we hypothesized that impaired mitophagy, as a consequence of mutations in mtDNA, can raise a disturbed innate immunity response resulting in the chronification of inflammation in atherosclerosis.

scholarly journals Mitochondrial DNA Replacement Techniques to Prevent Human Mitochondrial Diseases

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 551
Author(s):  
Luis Sendra ◽  
Alfredo García-Mares ◽  
María José Herrero ◽  
Salvador F. Aliño
Keyword(s):  
Mitochondrial Dna ◽  
Nuclear Dna ◽  
Genetic Disorders ◽  
Mitochondrial Diseases ◽  
Legal Regulation ◽  
Donor Oocyte ◽  
Legal Position ◽  
Ethical And Legal Issues ◽  
Mitochondrial Replacement Techniques ◽  
Do So

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.

Abstract 17097: Non-Synonymous Mitochondrial DNA Variants Are Common in Myocardial Tissue of Heart Failure Patients

Circulation ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 142 (Suppl_3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pappu Ananya ◽  
Michael Binder ◽  
Yang Wanjun ◽  
Rebecca McClellan ◽  
Brittney Murray ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heart Failure ◽  
Mitochondrial Dna ◽  
Nuclear Dna ◽  
Left Ventricular ◽  
Individual Risk ◽  
Myocardial Tissue ◽  
Mtdna Mutation ◽  
Mtdna Mutations ◽  
Ventricular Tissue ◽  
Mtdna Variants

Introduction: Mitochondrial heart disease due to pathogenic mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations can present as hypertrophic or dilated cardiomyopathy, ventricular arrhythmias and conduction disease. It is estimated that the mutation rate of mtDNA is 10 to 20-fold higher than that of nuclear DNA genes due to damage from reactive oxygen species released as byproducts during oxidative phosphorylation. When a new mtDNA mutation arises, it creates an intracellular heteroplasmic mixture of mutant and normal mtDNAs, called heteroplasmy. Heteroplasmy levels can vary in various tissues and examining mtDNA variants in blood may not be representative for the heart. The frequency of pathogenic mtDNA variants in myocardial tissues in unknown. Hypothesis: Human ventricular tissue may contain mtDNA mutations which can lead to alterations in mitochondrial function and increase individual risk for heart failure. Methods: Mitochondrial DNA was isolated from 61 left ventricular myocardial samples obtained from failing human hearts at the time of transplantation. mtDNA was sequenced with 23 primer pairs. In silico prediction of non-conservative missense variants was performed via PolyPhen-2. Heteroplasmy levels of variants predicted to be pathogenic were quantified using allele-specific ARMS-PCR. Results: We identified 21 mtDNA non-synonymous variants predicted to be pathogenic in 17 hearts. Notably, one heart contained four pathogenic mtDNA variants (ATP6: p.M104; ND5: p.P265S; ND4: p.N390S and p.L445F). Heteroplasmy levels exceeded 90% for all four variants in myocardial tissue and were significantly lower in blood. No pathogenic mtDNA variants were identified in 44 hearts. Hearts with mtDNA mutations had higher levels of myocardial GDF-15 (growth differentiation factor-15; 6.2±2.3 vs. 1.3±0.18, p=0.045), an established serum biomarker in various mitochondrial diseases. Conclusions: Non-synonymous mtDNA variants predicted to be pathogenic are common in human left ventricular tissue and may be an important modifier of the heart failure phenotype. Future studies are necessary to correlate myocardial mtDNA mutations with cardiovascular outcomes and to assess whether serum GDF-15 allows identifying patients with myocardial mtDNA mutations.

Abstract 206: Accumulation of Mitochondrial DNA Mutations Impairs Survival, Proliferation, and Differentiation of Cardiac Progenitor Cells

2014 ◽  
Vol 115 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Amabel M Orogo ◽  
Dieter A Kubli ◽  
Anne N Murphy ◽  
Åsa B Gustafsson
Keyword(s):  
Mitochondrial Dna ◽  
Progenitor Cells ◽  
Mitochondrial Biogenesis ◽  
Nuclear Dna ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Chemotherapeutic Agents ◽  
Cardiac Progenitor Cells ◽  
Mtdna Mutations ◽  
Differentiation Medium ◽  
Proliferation And Differentiation

Activation and participation of cardiac progenitor cells (CPCs) in regeneration are critical for effective repair in the wake of pathologic injury. Stem cell activation and commitment involve increased energy demand and mitochondrial biogenesis. To date, little attention has been paid to the importance of mitochondria in CPC survival, proliferation and differentiation. CPC function is reduced with age but the underlying mechanism is still unclear. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is more susceptible to oxidative attacks than nuclear DNA due to its proximity to the mitochondrial respiratory chain and lack of protective histone-like proteins. With age, mtDNA accumulates mutations that can impair mitochondrial respiration and increase ROS production. In this study, we examined the effects of accumulating mtDNA mutations on CPC proliferation and survival. We have found that incubation of uncommitted c-kit+ CPCs in differentiation medium increased mitochondrial mass and expansion of the mitochondrial network, which correlated with increased cell size and expression of cardiac lineage commitment markers. Differentiation activated mitochondrial biogenesis, increased mtDNA copy number, and enhanced oxidative capacity and cellular ATP levels in CPCs. To investigate the effect of mtDNA mutations and aging on CPC survival and function, we utilized a mouse model in which a mutation in the mtDNA polymerase γ (POLG m/m ) leads to accumulation of mtDNA mutations, mitochondrial dysfunction, and accelerated aging. Isolated CPCs from hearts of 2-month old POLG m/m mice had reduced proliferation and were more susceptible to oxidative stress and chemotherapeutic agents compared to WT CPCs. The majority of POLG m/m CPCs contained fragmented mitochondria as shown by immunostaining. Incubation in differentiation medium resulted in fewer GATA-4 positive POLG m/m CPCs compared to WT CPCs. The reduced differentiation in these POLG m/m CPCs correlated with reduced PGC-1α expression and OXPHOS protein levels, suggesting that mitochondrial biogenesis is impaired. These data demonstrate that mitochondria play a critical role in CPC function, and accumulation of mtDNA mutations impairs CPC function and reduces their repair potential.

scholarly journals Mitochondrial nucleoids maintain genetic autonomy but allow for functional complementation

2008 ◽  
Vol 181 (7) ◽  
pp. 1117-1128 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert W. Gilkerson ◽  
Eric A. Schon ◽  
Evelyn Hernandez ◽  
Mercy M. Davidson
Keyword(s):  
Mitochondrial Dna ◽  
Protein Synthesis ◽  
Molecular Mechanism ◽  
Cell Lines ◽  
Mitochondrial Protein ◽  
Functional Complementation ◽  
Mitochondrial Protein Synthesis ◽  
Protein Assemblies ◽  
Mtdna Mutations ◽  
Mitochondrial Nucleoids

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is packaged into DNA-protein assemblies called nucleoids, but the mode of mtDNA propagation via the nucleoid remains controversial. Two mechanisms have been proposed: nucleoids may consistently maintain their mtDNA content faithfully, or nucleoids may exchange mtDNAs dynamically. To test these models directly, two cell lines were fused, each homoplasmic for a partially deleted mtDNA in which the deletions were nonoverlapping and each deficient in mitochondrial protein synthesis, thus allowing the first unequivocal visualization of two mtDNAs at the nucleoid level. The two mtDNAs transcomplemented to restore mitochondrial protein synthesis but were consistently maintained in discrete nucleoids that did not intermix stably. These results indicate that mitochondrial nucleoids tightly regulate their genetic content rather than freely exchanging mtDNAs. This genetic autonomy provides a molecular mechanism to explain patterns of mitochondrial genetic inheritance, in addition to facilitating therapeutic methods to eliminate deleterious mtDNA mutations.

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