title: Relationship between mitochondrial DNA damage and photoreceptor death in developing and adult retina, assessed in normal and degenerative rat strains.
abstract: In this study, we used Real-Time PCR to study the correlation of mtDNA deletions and photoreceptor death by apoptosis in one normal (SD) and two different degenerative (RCS and P23H) rat strains. Our results show that, in the SD and RCS strains, mtDNA deletion frequency increased and fell during neonatal life, correlating with rates of photoreceptor death during the critical period of photoreceptor development, and into adulthood. Results suggest that mitochondrial damage occurs in close association with photoreceptor death, in the normal (SD) and fast degenerative (RCS) retinas. The lack of a similar association was observed in the slowly degenerative P23H-3 strain.
authors.affiliation: Research School of Biological Sciences, Australian National University, GPO Box 475, Canberra City, ACT 2601, Australia.
authors.forename: Arturo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bravo-Nuevo
authors.forename: Neal K
authors.initials: NK
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: Krisztina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Valter
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Stone
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000473:pathology; D000818:Animals; D016923:Cell Death; D004249:DNA Damage; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000378:metabolism*; D017353:Gene Deletion; D010786:Photoreceptor Cells / Q000166:cytology*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012160:Retina / Q000254:growth & development*; D012162:Retinal Degeneration / Q000503:physiopathology*
chemical_list: D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial