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Distribution patterns of postmortem damage in human mitochondrial DNA.

ABSTRACT: The distribution of postmortem damage in mitochondrial DNA retrieved from 37 ancient human DNA samples was analyzed by cloning and was compared with a selection of published animal data. A relative rate of damage (rho(v)) was calculated for nucleotide positions within the human hypervariable region 1 (HVR1) and cytochrome oxidase subunit III genes. A comparison of damaged sites within and between the regions reveals that damage hotspots exist and that, in the HVR1, these correlate with sites known to have high in vivo mutation rates. Conversely, HVR1 subregions with known structural function, such as MT5, have lower in vivo mutation rates and lower postmortem-damage rates. The postmortem data also identify a possible functional subregion of the HVR1, termed "low-diversity 1," through the lack of sequence damage. The amount of postmortem damage observed in mitochondrial coding regions was significantly lower than in the HVR1, and, although hotspots were noted, these did not correlate with codon position. Finally, a simple method for the identification of incorrect archaeological haplogroup designations is introduced, on the basis of the observed spectrum of postmortem damage.

SUBMITTER: Gilbert MT

PROVIDER: S-EPMC420011 | biostudies-literature | 2003 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Distribution patterns of postmortem damage in human mitochondrial DNA.

Gilbert M Thomas P MT Willerslev Eske E Hansen Anders J AJ Barnes Ian I Rudbeck Lars L Lynnerup Niels N Cooper Alan A

American journal of human genetics 20021212 1

The distribution of postmortem damage in mitochondrial DNA retrieved from 37 ancient human DNA samples was analyzed by cloning and was compared with a selection of published animal data. A relative rate of damage (rho(v)) was calculated for nucleotide positions within the human hypervariable region 1 (HVR1) and cytochrome oxidase subunit III genes. A comparison of damaged sites within and between the regions reveals that damage hotspots exist and that, in the HVR1, these correlate with sites kno ...[more]

PMID: 12489041

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Project description:BackgroundMitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) encodes 37 genes necessary for synthesizing 13 essential subunits of the oxidative phosphorylation system. mtDNA alterations are known to cause mitochondrial disease (MitD), a clinically heterogeneous group of disorders that often present with neuropsychiatric symptoms. Understanding the nature and frequency of mtDNA alterations in health and disease could be a cornerstone in disentangling the relationship between biochemical findings and clinical symptoms of brain disorders. This systematic review aimed to summarize the mtDNA alterations in human brain tissue reported to date that have implications for further research on the pathophysiological significance of mtDNA alterations in brain functioning.MethodsWe searched the PubMed and Embase databases using distinct terms related to postmortem human brain and mtDNA up to June 10, 2021. Reports were eligible if they were empirical studies analysing mtDNA in postmortem human brains.FindingsA total of 158 of 637 studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria and were clustered into the following groups: MitD (48 entries), neurological diseases (NeuD, 55 entries), psychiatric diseases (PsyD, 15 entries), a miscellaneous group with controls and other clinical diseases (5 entries), ageing (20 entries), and technical issues (5 entries). Ten entries were ascribed to more than one group. Pathogenic single nucleotide variants (pSNVs), both homo- or heteroplasmic variants, have been widely reported in MitD, with heteroplasmy levels varying among brain regions; however, pSNVs are rarer in NeuD, PsyD and ageing. A lower mtDNA copy number (CN) in disease was described in most, but not all, of the identified studies. mtDNA deletions were identified in individuals in the four clinical categories and ageing. Notably, brain samples showed significantly more mtDNA deletions and at higher heteroplasmy percentages than blood samples, and several of the deletions present in the brain were not detected in the blood. Finally, mtDNA heteroplasmy, mtDNA CN and the deletion levels varied depending on the brain region studied.InterpretationmtDNA alterations are well known to affect human tissues, including the brain. In general, we found that studies of MitD, NeuD, PsyD, and ageing were highly variable in terms of the type of disease or ageing process investigated, number of screened individuals, studied brain regions and technology used. In NeuD and PsyD, no particular type of mtDNA alteration could be unequivocally assigned to any specific disease or diagnostic group. However, the presence of mtDNA deletions and mtDNA CN variation imply a role for mtDNA in NeuD and PsyD. Heteroplasmy levels and threshold effects, affected brain regions, and mitotic segregation patterns of mtDNA alterations may be involved in the complex inheritance of NeuD and PsyD and in the ageing process. Therefore, more information is needed regarding the type of mtDNA alteration, the affected brain regions, the heteroplasmy levels, and their relationship with clinical phenotypes and the ageing process.FundingHospital Universitari Institut Pere Mata; Institut d'Investigació Sanitària Pere Virgili; Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (PI18/00514).

Project description:Purpose: To develop a pipeline (Splice-Break) for high-resolution quantification of mtDNA deletions, provide a catalogue of human mtDNA deletion breakpoints, and evaluate mtDNA deletions in brains from subjects with psychiatric disorders. Methods: 93 samples from human postmortem brain and blood were obtained from the Southwest Brain Bank (SBB) and University of California, Irvine (UCI) Brain Bank. Total DNA was extracted from frozen homogenate tissue and mtDNA was amplified/enriched using a single long-range PCR. Mitochondrial amplicons were purified by bead purification to retain both wild-type and deleted molecules (i.e., no gel excision was performed). mtDNA-enriched PCR amplicons were prepared for sequencing using standard Illumina protocols for DNA. Samples were sequenced 150-mer paired-end reads, in multiplex (96x per lane), on an unpatterned flowcell (HiSeq 2500). Fastq files were processed using our Splice-Break pipeline for the detection and relative quantification of mtDNA deletions. Results: A catalogue of 4,489 putative mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) deletions, including their frequency and relative read rate, was produced. Analyses of 93 samples from postmortem brain and blood found 1) the 4,977bp “common deletion” was neither the most frequent deletion nor the most abundant; 2) brain contained significantly more mtDNA deletions than blood; 3) many high frequency deletions were previously reported in MitoBreak, suggesting they are present at low levels in metabolically active tissues and are not exclusive to individuals with diagnosed mitochondrial pathologies; 4) many individual deletions (and cumulative deletion metrics) had significant and positive correlations with age; and 5) the highest deletion burdens were observed in a subset of subjects with major depressive disorder (MDD), and these subjects had mtDNA deletion levels at or above those detected in typical deletion pathologies (e.g., Kearns-Sayre syndrome (KSS) muscle). Conclusions: Collectively, these data suggest the Splice-Break pipeline can detect and quantify mtDNA deletions at a high level of resolution.

Dataset Information

Distribution patterns of postmortem damage in human mitochondrial DNA.

Publications

Distribution patterns of postmortem damage in human mitochondrial DNA.

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