Journal
FRONTIERS IN AGING NEUROSCIENCE
Volume 7, Issue -, Pages -Publisher
FRONTIERS MEDIA SA
DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2015.00142
Keywords
Alzheimer's disease; mtDNA; mutation; aging; allele; MitoChip; heteroplasmy
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Funding
- Italian Ministry of Health [RF-INR-2006-346774]
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Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia in the elderly. The vast majority of cases are not linked to a known genetic defect and the molecular mechanisms underlying AD pathogenesis are still elusive. Evidence suggests that mitochondrial dysfunction is a prominent feature of the disease, and that mitochondria' DNA (mtDNA) alterations may represent a possible starting point of the pathophysiological cascade. Although specific mtDNA alterations have been reported in AD patients both in brain and peripheral tissues, such as D-loop mutations, 4977-bp deletion and poly-C tract D310 cytosine insertion, a generalized subtle allelic shift has also been demonstrated. This shift is significant for a few nucleotide positions (nps), but it is also detectable for most nps, although at a lower level. As single allelic substitutions can unlikely be determinant, it is proposed that the combination of all of them could lead to a less efficient oxidative phosphorylation, thus influencing AD development and course.
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