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Lookup NU author(s): Dr Julie Murphy, Gavin Falkous, Dr Charlotte Alston, Professor Robert TaylorORCiD, Emeritus Professor Doug Turnbull
An important diagnostic muscle biopsy finding in patients with mitochondrial DNA disease is the presence of respiratory-chain deficient fibres. These fibres are detected as cytochrome c oxidase-deficient following a sequential cytochrome c oxidase-succinate dehydrogenase reaction, often in a mosaic pattern within a population of cytochrome c oxidase-normal fibres. Detailed analysis of muscle biopsies from patients with various mitochondrial DNA defects shows that a spectrum of deficiency exists, as there are a large number of fibres which do not correspond to being either completely cytochrome c oxidase-normal (brown staining) or cytochrome c oxidase-deficient (blue staining). We have used a combination of histochemical and immunocytochemical techniques to show that a population of cytochrome c oxidase-intermediate reacting fibres are a gradation between normal and deficient fibres. We show that cytochrome c oxidase-intermediate fibres also have different genetic characteristics in terms of amount of mutated and wild-type mtDNA, and as such, may represent an important transition between respiratory normal and deficient fibres. Assessing changes in intermediate fibres will be crucial to evaluating the responses to treatment and in particular to exercise training regimes in patients with mitochondrial DNA disease. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Author(s): Murphy JL, Ratnaike TE, Shang ES, Falkous G, Blakely EL, Alston CL, Taivassalo T, Haller RG, Taylor RW, Turnbull DM
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Neuromuscular Disorders
Year: 2012
Volume: 22
Issue: 8
Pages: 690-698
Print publication date: 01/08/2012
Date deposited: 31/10/2012
ISSN (print): 0960-8966
ISSN (electronic): 1873-2364
Publisher: Elsevier Ltd
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.nmd.2012.04.003
DOI: 10.1016/j.nmd.2012.04.003
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