title: Accumulation of deletions in human mitochondrial DNA during normal aging: analysis by quantitative PCR.
abstract: 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.
authors: Department of Neurology, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032.
authors: S
authors: S
authors: Simonetti
authors: X
authors: X
authors: Chen
authors: S
authors: S
authors: DiMauro
authors: E A
authors: EA
authors: Schon
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging; D002872:Chromosome Deletion; D004247:DNA / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D008931:Mitochondria, Muscle / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D004247:DNA