Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are clonal myeloid disorders characterized by ineffective hematopoiesis resulting in refractory cytopenias. Transformation resulting in acute myeloblastic leukemia is the final stage in the multistep process of MDS evolution. Functional relevant mutations of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) have been related to sideroblastic anemia and MDS. To investigate the role of mt...

We studied nine infant patients with a combination of progressive neurological and hepatic failure. Eight children, including two sibling pairs and four singletons, were affected by Alpers' hepatopathic poliodystrophy. A ninth baby patient suffered of a severe floppy infant syndrome associated with liver failure. Analysis of POLG1, the gene encoding the catalytic subunit of mitochondrial DNA po...

Mitochondria are important intracellular organelles that produce energy for cellular development, differentiation, and growth. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) presents a 10- to 20-fold higher susceptibility to genetic mutations owing to the lack of introns and histone proteins. The mtDNA repair system is relatively inefficient, rendering it vulnerable to reactive oxygen species (ROS) produced during ...

Mitochondria are highly dynamic organelles, undergoing continuous fission and fusion, and mitochondrial dynamics is important for several cellular functions. DNM1L is the most important mediator of mitochondrial fission, with a role also in peroxisome division. Few reports of patients with genetic defects in DNM1L have been published, most of them describing de novo dominant mutations. We ident...

Mitochondrial diseases are extremely heterogeneous multisystem disorders predominantly affecting tissues or organs with high oxygen consumption like skeletal muscles, brain, endocrine glands, myocardium, eyes, ears, intestines, liver, kidneys, and bone marrow. Although various clinical syndromes have been described, they frequently overlap and there is no diagnostic gold standard to identify al...

ver the last decade, novel mitochondrial genetic diseases have been identified in which mutations in DNA polymerase γ (POLG [MIM 174763]) gene are involved. POLG1 is the only DNA polymerase in human mitochondria and is essential for mitochondrial (mt) DNA replication and repair. It has to be stressed that functional genetic variants of POLG are present in about 0.5 percent of the normal populat...

BACKGROUND Pathogenic mutations of the human mitochondrial genome are associated with well-characterized, progressive neurological syndromes, with mutations in the transfer RNA genes being particularly prominent. OBJECTIVE To describe a novel mitochondrial transfer RNA(Pro) gene mutation in a woman with a myoclonic epilepsy with ragged-red fibers-like disease. Design, Setting, and Patient Cas...

Mitochondrial morphology depends on the equilibrium between antagonistic fission and fusion forces acting on mitochondrial membranes. Inactivation of fusion induces the loss of mtDNA. When both fusion and fission are simultaneously inactivated, the loss of mtDNA is alleviated, along with mitochondrial fragmentation. Mechanisms involved in mtDNA maintenance thus seem to depend on a coordinated r...

BACKGROUND An extensive range of molecular defects have been identified in the human mitochondrial genome (mitochondrial DNA); many are associated with well-characterized, progressive neurological syndromes, but a minority of patients have uncharacteristic phenotypes in which symptoms may be relatively mild. OBJECTIVE To describe a novel transfer RNA(Phe) mutation of mitochondrial DNA in a la...

objectives: immunodeficiency duo to hiv infection can produce unusual diseases in infected individuals & cd4 count is the main predictor of disease progression. in this study clinical syndromes resulting in admition, are considered according to cd4 count for the beter diagnosis and treatment of clinical problemes in hiv infected patients. materrial & methods: this is a cross - sectional...