Cell-free mitochondrial DNA in progressive multiple sclerosis

Publication date: Available online 8 August 2018Source: MitochondrionAuthor(s): Hannah Lowes, Angela Pyle, Martin Duddy, Gavin HudsonAbstractRecent studies have linked cell-free mitochondrial DNA (ccf-mtDNA) to neurodegeneration in both Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, raising the possibility that the same phenomenon could be seen in other diseases which manifest a neurodegenerative component. Here, we assessed the role of circulating cell-free mitochondrial DNA (ccf-mtDNA) in end-stage progressive multiple sclerosis (PMS), where neurodegeneration is evident, contrasting both ventricular cerebral spinal fluid ccf-mtDNA abundance and integrity between PMS cases and controls, and correlating ccf-mtDNA levels to known protein markers of neurodegeneration and PMS. Our data indicate that reduced ccf-mtDNA is a component of PMS, concluding that it may indeed be a hallmark of broader neurodegeneration.
Source: Mitochondrion - Category: Biochemistry Source Type: research