Changes in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) content is a useful clinical biomarker for various diseases, however results are controversial as several analytical factors can affect measurement of mtDNA. MtDNA is often quantified by taking ratio between a target mitochondrial gene and a reference nuclear gene (mtDNA/nDNA) using quantitative real time PCR often on two separate experiments. It measures re...

Depletion of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) appears to be an important cause of mitochondrial dysfunction in neonates and infants. We have identified another child in whom depletion of mtDNA was demonstrated in liver and serial skeletal muscle biopsies. A primary myoblast culture from the patient initially showed normal levels of mtDNA, but there was a progressive loss of mtDNA in later cell passage...

Reduction or depletion of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) has been associated with cancer progression. Although imbalanced mtDNA content is known to occur in prostate cancer, differences in mtDNA content between African American (AA) and Caucasian American (CA) men are not defined. We provide the first evidence that tumors in AA men possess reduced level of mtDNA compared to CA men. The median tumor ...

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) content has been shown to be associated with cancer susceptibility. We identified 926 bladder cancer patients and compared these with 926 healthy controls frequency matched on age, gender, and ethnicity. Patients diagnosed with bladder cancer had significantly decreased mtDNA content when compared with control subjects (median, 0.98 vs. 1.04, P < 0.001). Low mtDNA cont...

Maintenance of an intact mitochondrial genome is essential for oxidative phosphorylation in all eukaryotes. Depletion of mitochondrial genome copy number can have severe pathological consequences due to loss of respiratory capacity. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, several bifunctional metabolic enzymes have been shown to be required for mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) maintenance. For example, Ilv5 is r...

we studied 74 patients with lebers hereditary optic neuropathy (lhon) to investigate causative mtdna mutations (g3460a, g11778a, t14484c, g4459a) in iranian lhon patients. fifty two patients carried the mitochondrial dna (mtdna) g11778a mutation, while one had the t14484c mutation 4 patients had the g3460a mutation and one had the g14459a mutation. our results showed a similarity in the pattern...

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) content is dependent on the energy requirements of tissues. To date, no comprehensive study has been conducted to examine mtDNA copy number variations in pigs. In the current study, quantitative polymerase chain reaction was performed to quantify the mtDNA copy number in 15 pig tissue types at 5 growth stages from embryo to adult. Observable differences in mtDNA conten...

b a ckground: great gerbils, rhombomys opimus , are the main reservoir host of zoonootic cutaneous leishmaniasis (zcl) in iran and neighboring countries. based on morphological traits two subspecies r. opimus sodalis and r. opimus sargadensis have reported in the country. however, variation in infection rate and signs to leishmania parasites, phenotype, size, and sexual polymorphisms demand mor...

Clonally expanded mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) deletions accumulate with age in human substantia nigra (SN) and high levels cause respiratory chain deficiency. In other human tissues, mtDNA point mutations clonally expand with age. Here, the abundance of mtDNA point mutations within single SN neurons from aged controls was investigated. From 31 single cytochrome c oxidase normal SN neurons, only o...

The authors studied seven patients with mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) myopathy. Over time, there was a progressive depletion of mtDNA, which preferentially affected wild-type mitochondrial genomes. This suggests that loss of wild-type mtDNA is a major feature of mtDNA myopathy, and preventing wild-type mtDNA depletion has treatment implications.