Accumulation of deletions in human mitochondrial DNA during normal aging: analysis by quantitative PCR.
We have developed a quantitative PCR technique to measure the amount of a specific mitochondrial DNA deletion (delta mtDNA), the so-called 'common deletion', in human tissues. Using this method, we estimate that there is a 10,000-fold increase in this delta mtDNA species in muscle during the course of the normal human lifespan. The maximum amount of common deletion observed in aged muscle was approx. 0.1%. Tissues that turn-over slowly, such as skeletal muscle and heart, contained more delta mtDNA than more rapidly dividing tissues, such as liver, in agreement with studies performed by others.
Simonetti
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Department of Neurology, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032.
Chen
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DiMauro
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Schon
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EA
D000375:Aging; D002872:Chromosome Deletion; D004247:DNA / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D008931:Mitochondria, Muscle / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods
D004247:DNA