Authors
Lightowlers RN. Jacobs HT. Kajander OA.
Institution
Dept of Neurology, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, Medical School,
Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
Title
Mitochondrial DNA--all
things bad?. [Review] [27 refs]
Source
Trends in Genetics. 15(3):91-3, 1999 Mar.
Abstract
Mutations in mitochondrial DNA
(mtDNA) are undoubtedly associated with a diverse spectrum
of human disorders. More controversially, it has been
claimed that they accumulate during ageing, and that they are responsible for
an age-related decline in bioenergetic function and tissue viability. Here,
we review the evidence for this assertion, concluding that claims for the
age-accumulation of mtDNA mutations are based largely on
non-quantitative methods, and that no clear, functional deficit of
mitochondrial respiration has been shown to result from such
lesions in aged individuals. The mitochondrial theory of
ageing, however attractive in principle, is supported by very little hard
evidence. [References: 27]