Phenotypic heterogeneity of MELAS

Phenotypic heterogeneity of MELAS☆☆☆

With interest we read the article by Dvorakova et al. about 50 Czech patients carrying the m.3243ANG mutation [1]. It raises questions and concerns. Since MELAS is a progressive disease, we should be informed about the long-term follow-up findings in the 50 mutation carriers. How many of the 17 patients without clinical manifestations at inclusion developed MELAS during follow-up? How many of t...

The clinical heterogeneity of late-onset MELAS

We read with interest the response by Finsterer and Zarrouk-Mahjoub [1] to our manuscript ‘Case Report: 5 Year Follow-up of Adult Late-Onset Mitochondrial Encephalomyopathy with Lactic Acid and Stroke-Like Episodes (MELAS)’ [2–4]. We have the following responses: Regarding the doses of initial anti-epileptic medication (AEDs), since this was some time ago and at a different institution we do no...

Phenotypic Heterogeneity of the Endothelium

Endothelial cells, which form the inner cellular lining of blood vessels and lymphatics, display remarkable heterogeneity in structure and function. This is the second of a 2-part review on the phenotypic heterogeneity of blood vessel endothelial cells. The first part discusses the scope, the underlying mechanisms, and the diagnostic and therapeutic implications of phenotypic heterogeneity. Her...

Phenotypic Heterogeneity of Breast Tumors

Phenotypic Heterogeneity in Bacterial Populations

Genetically uniform bacterial cells exhibit heterogeneity such as intrapopulation differences in metabolism as well as variation in growth rate. Additionally, phenotypic heterogeneity in more complex developmental processes where a portion of a population performs specialized functions has been described. Heterogeneity within populations of bacterial cells ensures that a small fraction of the p...