Mitochondrial DNA copy number threshold in mtDNA depletion myopathy.

Durham, S E; Bonilla, E; Samuels, D C; DiMauro, S; Chinnery, P F · Neurology · 2005

case_series · Level IV

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Abstract

The authors measured the absolute amount of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) within single muscle fibers from two patients with thymidine kinase 2 (TK2) deficiency and two healthy controls. TK2 deficient fibers containing more than 0.01 mtDNA/microm3 had residual cytochrome c oxidase (COX) activity. This defines the minimum amount of wild-type mtDNA molecules required to maintain COX activity in skeletal muscle and provides an explanation for the mosaic histochemical pattern seen in patients with mtDNA depletion syndrome.

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