Takayuki Ozawa

MITOCHONDRIAL DNA MUTATIONS AS AN IMPORTANT CONTRIBUTOR TO AGEING AND DEGENERATIVE DISEASES

The human mitochondrial genome is very small and economically packed; the expression of the whole genome is essential for the maintenance of mitochondrial bioenergetic function. Mutation occurs at a much higher rate in the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) than in chromosomal DNA. Transient heteroplasmy of mtDNA occurs after a mutational event; the random pattern of cytoplasmic segregation that occurs during subsequent growth gives rise to a mosaic of cells. The variable proportion of mutant mitochondrial genomes per cell results in cells with a range of bioenergetic capacities. It is proposed that the accumulation of mitochondrial mutations and the subsequent cytoplasmic segregation of these mutations during life is an important contributor both to the ageing process and to several human degenerative diseases. Replacement therapy and pharmacological support may be possible for the amelioration of such disorders by means of appropriate redox compounds. Moreover, new compounds with desired redox potentials can be rationally designed for clinical use.

Deficiencies in complex I subunits of the respiratory chain in Parkinson's disease

Immunoblotting studies on mitochondria prepared from the striata of patients who died of Parkinsons disease were performed using specific antisera against Complexes I, III and IV. In 4 out of 5 patients with Parkinsons disease, the 30-, 25- and 24-kDa subunits of Complex I were moderately to markedly decreased. No clear difference was noted in immunoblotting studies on subunits of Complexes III and IV between the control and Parkinsons disease. Deficiencies in Complex I subunits seem to be one of the most important clues to elucidate pathogenesis of Parkinsons disease.

Increase of deleted mitochondrial DNA in the striatum in Parkinson's disease and senescence

A mutant mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) with a 4,977-bp deletion was detected in the parkinsonian brain by using the polymerase chain reaction. Although the deleted mtDNA was detectable even in the brain of aged controls, the proportion of deleted mtDNA to normal mtDNA in the striatum was higher in the parkinsonian patients than in the controls. In both the parkinsonian patients and the aged controls, the proportion was higher in the striatum than in the cerebral cortex. These results indicate that age-related accumulation of deleted mtDNA is accelerated in the parkinsonian striatum and suggest that the deletion contributes to pathophysiological processes underlying Parkinsons disease.

Age-associated oxygen damage and mutations in mitochondrial DNA in human hearts

Some mutations in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) causing a number of neuromuscular diseases are suggested to arise spontaneously during the life of an individual. To substantiate the extent and the rate of these somatic mutations, mtDNA specimens from post-mortem human heart muscles of subjects in differing age groups were hydrolyzed. 8-Hydroxy-deoxyguanosine (8-OH-dG), a hydroxyl-radical adduct of deoxyguanosine, in mtDNA, was quantitatively determined using a micro high-performance liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry system. In each specimen, the mtDNA with a 7.4 kilo base-pair deletion was quantified by the kinetic polymerase chain reaction method. In association with age, the 8-OH-dG content accumulated exponentially up to 1.5% with a correlative increase in the content of the deleted mtDNA up to 7%. Clear correlation between the 8-OH-dG content in mtDNA and the population of mtDNA with a deletion (r = 0.93, P < 0.01) gives insight into the mechanism for the generation of a large deletion. These results indicate that accumulation of somatically acquired oxygen damage together with age-associated mutations in mtDNA which lead to bioenergetic deficiency and the heart muscle weakness are inevitable in human life.

Age-associated accumulation of 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine in mitochondrial DNA of human diaphragm

This is the first report that age-associated accumulation of 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OH-dG) does occur in human mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) in muscle of diaphragm. We extracted mtDNA from human diaphragm muscles from differing age groups, and determined the amount of 8-OH-dG by ultramicro-high performance liquid chromatography/mass-spectrometry system. With the same specimen, multiple deletions of mtDNA were detected by electrophoresis after amplification by the polymerase chain reaction method. In subjects below age 55, the level of 8-OH-dG in mtDNA was below 0.02% of the total deoxyguanosine (dG), whereas, in subjects over age 65, the level of 8-OH-dG increased with age at a rate of ca. 0.25% per 10 years, reaching 0.51% at age 85. Moreover, a concomitant increase in multiple deletions was detected with the increase in age. These results suggest that, in younger diaphragms, replication of mtDNA dilutes out 8-OH-dG being not detectable. In the elderly subjects aged over 65, the replication rate might be slowed down leading to the accumulation of 8-OH-dG in mtDNA, which would accelerate the age-associated multiple deletions of mtDNA observed among the subjects.

Quantitative determination of deleted mitochondrial DNA relative to normal DNA in parkinsonian striatum by a kinetic PCR analysis

Deleted mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) was accumulated in the parkinsonian striatum, but the same deleted mtDNA was also detectable in the control striatum when cycles of polymerase chain reaction were increased. To discriminate between these pathological and physiological conditions, we quantitatively analyzed the proportion of deleted mtDNA to normal mtDNA by measuring the incorporation of alpha-[32P]deoxycytosine triphosphate into mtDNA fragments by using a laser image analyzer. To estimate the molar ratio of the deleted mtDNA to normal mtDNA, the radioactivity was normalized by each fragment size. By plotting logarithms of normalized radioactivities against PCR amplification cycles, straight lines were obtained with different slopes. By extrapolation of the line to the zero amplification, the proportion of mutant mtDNA to normal mtDNA in the original sample from the parkinsonian striatum was estimated to be ca. 5%, which was at least ten times higher than the proportion of ca. 0.3% in the control striatum. These results indicate that phenotype of the mutant mtDNA as Parkinsons disease is expressed when the proportion of deleted mtDNA to normal mtDNA exceeds a threshold of ten times higher value than in the normal subject.

Multiple mitochondrial DNA deletions exist in cardiomyocytes of patients with hypertrophic or dilated cardiomyopathy

Genetic impairment was revealed in idiopathic cardiomyopathy and the responsible DNA locus was estimated. Mitochondrial DNA were amplified from autopsied cardiac specimens from three patients who died from hypertrophic or dilated cardiomyopathy by using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). By using two novel methods for PCR gene amplification, the pleioplasmic existence of multiple populations of differently deleted mitochondrial DNA in all specimens from the patients was confirmed. Mitochondrial DNA with a 7,436 bp deletion which commonly existed among the specimens was sequenced and the direct repeat at each edge of deletion was identified as (CATCAACAACCG) which was located in ATPase 6 gene and in the D-loop region. From our results mitochondrial DNA mutations could also be an important contributory factor to cardiomyopathy.

Role of mitochondria in the etiology and pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease

We discuss the etiology and pathogenesis of Parkinsons disease (PD). Our group and others have found a decrease in complex I of the mitochondrial electron transfer complex in the substantia nigra of patients with PD; in addition, we reported loss of the alpha-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase complex (KGDHC) in the substantia nigra. Dual loss of complex I and the KGDHC will deleteriously affect the electron transport and ATP synthesis; we believe that energy crisis is the most important mechanism of nigral cell death in PD. Oxidative stress has also been implicated as an important contributor to nigral cell death in PD, but we believe that oxidative stress is a secondary phenomenon to respiratory failure, because respiratory failure will increase oxygen free-radical formation and consume glutathione. The primary cause of mitochondrial respiratory failure has not been elucidated yet, but additive effect of environmental neurotoxins in genetically predisposed persons appears to be the most likely possibility.

Mechanism of somatic mitochondrial DNA mutations associated with age and diseases

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) that codes protein subunits essential for the maintenance of mitochondrial ATP synthesis system acquires mutations at a much higher rate than that in nuclear DNA. Recent study has revealed that somatically acquired mutations such as deletions in mtDNA are caused mainly by oxygen free-radical damage. Cumulative accumulation of these somatic mutations during the life of an individual causes bioenergetic deficit leading to cell death and normal ageing. The base-sequencing of the entire mtDNA from 48 individuals revealed that germ-line point mutations accelerate extensively the somatic oxygen free-radical damage and the deletions leading to generation of more than a hundred kinds of mtDNA minicircle. These accelerated somatic mutations are expressed as premature ageing of the patients with degenerative diseases. Comprehensive analyses of the entire mtDNA, including the total base-sequencing and the total deletion correlating with oxygen free-radical damage, has revealed a clear relationship between the genotype and its phenotype, such as the severity of clinical symptoms and the survival time of the patients. Extensive generation of mtDNA minicircles caused by the oxygen free radical implies a close relations between the redox mechanism of ageing and the programmed cell-death machinery.

Point mutations of mitochondrial genome in Parkinson's disease

Oxidative stress and subsequent energy crisis have been proposed as the cause of nigral neuronal cell death in Parkinsons disease. We have reported defects in the mitochondrial respiratory chain and increased amount of deleted mitochondrial genome in the nigrostriatal system of patients with Parkinsons disease. Deletion in mitochondrial DNA could be ascribed to somatically acquired premature aging leading to cell death. To elucidate the contribution of maternally transmitted point mutations in mitochondrial DNA to the premature DNA damages, we employed a direct sequencing system and analyzed the total nucleotide sequences of mitochondrial DNA in the brains of five patients with idiopathic Parkinsons disease. There were no predominant point mutations among the patients in contrast to some neuromuscular diseases. However, each patient had several point mutations that would result in a significant change in the gene products. Some of these mutations may be involved either in the increased production of oxygen radicals from the mitochondrial respiratory chain or in the increased susceptibility of the respiratory chain components to oxidative damage. We propose that some of these mutations can be regarded as one of the risk factors accelerating degeneration of nigrostriatal pathway in Parkinsons disease.