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BACKGROUND: Sequence alternations in mitochondrial genomes, especially in genes encoding mitochondrial tRNA (mt-tRNA), were the important contributors to nonsyndromic hearing loss (NSHL); however, the molecular mechanisms remained largely undetermined. METHODS: A maternally transmitted Chinese pedigree with NSHL underwent clinical, genetic, and biochemical assessment. PCR and direct sequence analyses were performed to detect mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), GJB2, and SLC26A4 gene mutations from matrilineal relatives of this family. Mitochondrial functions including mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), ATP, and ROS were evaluated in polymononuclear leukocytes (PMNs) derived from three deaf patients and three controls from this pedigree. RESULTS: Four of nine matrilineal relatives developed hearing loss at the variable age of onset. Two putative pathogenic mutations, m.5601C>T in tRNAAla and m.12311T>C in tRNALeu(CUN) , were identified via PCR-Sanger sequencing, as well as 34 variants that belonged to mtDNA haplogroup G2b2. Intriguingly, m.5601C>T mutation resided at very conserved nucleotide in the TψC loop of tRNAAla (position 59), while the T-to-C substitution at position 12311 located at position 48 in the variable stem of tRNALeu(CUN) and was believed to alter the aminoacylation and the steady-state level of tRNA. Biochemical analysis revealed the impairment of mitochondrial functions including the significant reductions of ATP and MMP, whereas markedly increased ROS levels were found in PMNs derived from NSHL patients with m.5601C>T and m.12311T>C mutations. However, we did not detect any mutations in GJB2 and SLC26A4 genes. CONCLUSION: Our data indicated that mt-tRNAAla m.5601C>T and tRNALeu(CUN) 12311T>C mutations were associated with NSHL.

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BACKGROUND: Mitochondrial dysfunctions caused by mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) pathogenic mutations play putative roles in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) progression. But the underlying mechanism remains poorly understood. METHODS: A large Chinese family with maternally inherited diabetes and deafness (MIDD) underwent clinical, genetic, and molecular assessment. PCR and sequence analysis are carried out to detect mtDNA variants in affected family members, in addition, phylogenetic conservation analysis, haplogroup classification, and pathogenicity scoring system are performed. Moreover, the GJB2, GJB3, GJB6, and TRMU genes mutations are screened by PCR-Sanger sequencing. RESULTS: Six of 18 matrilineal subjects manifested different clinical phenotypes of diabetes. The average age at onset of diabetic patients is 52 years. Screening for the entire mitochondrial genomes suggests the co-existence of two possibly pathogenic mutations: tRNATrp A5514G and tRNASer(AGY) C12237T, which belongs to East Asia haplogroup G2a. By molecular level, m.A5514G mutation resides at acceptor stem of tRNATrp (position 3), which is critical for steady-state level of tRNATrp . Conversely, m.C12237T mutation occurs in the variable region of tRNASer(AGY) (position 31), which creates a novel base-pairing (11A-31T). Thus, the mitochondrial dysfunctions caused by tRNATrp A5514G and tRNASer(AGY) C12237T mutations, may be associated with T2DM in this pedigree. But we do not find any functional mutations in those nuclear genes. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that m.A5514G and m.C12337T mutations are associated with T2DM, screening for mt-tRNA mutations is useful for molecular diagnosis and prevention of mitochondrial diabetes.

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According a recent report by Heidari et al., a mutational screening for candidate pathogenic mitochondrial tRNA (mt-tRNA) mutations were performed in 45 Iranian patients with non-dystrophic myotonia (NDM) and 70 control subjects. Through PCR amplification and direct sequence analysis, nine mt-tRNA mutations were identified: tRNAMet T4454C, tRNATrp A5568G, tRNACys T5794C, tRNAArg A10438T and T10462C, tRNALeu(CUN) A12308G, tRNAThr A15907G, A15924G and G15928A. However, through the database searches and phylogenetic conservation analysis, we noticed that the tRNAThr A15924G, G15928A and tRNALeu(CUN) A12308G mutations should be classified 'pathogenic'. Thus, the roles of mt-tRNA mutations in clinical expression of NDM needed to be further experimentally addressed.

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Aim: Pathogenic variants within mitochondrial tRNA and rRNA genes negatively affect protein synthesis function and cause oxidative phosphorylation defects. The majority of mitochondrial cytopathies are caused by pathogenic point variants within the mitochondrial tRNA gene for leucine (MT-TL1). This study was designed to evaluate a novel amplification-refractory mutation system (ARMS)-PCR based assay to screen patient samples with a clinical diagnosis of mitochondrial cytopathies. Methods: Tissue DNA samples from 219 affected individuals were screened for the pathogenic variants m.3271T>C, m.3291Ty >C, m.3303C>T, m.3256C>T, and m.3260A>G along with the most frequent m.3243A>G mutation in the MT-TL1 gene. The assay included a "High Resolution Melt curve analysis" to enhance detection limits. The precision of the assay was verified using synthetic controls with variant heteroplasmy ratios. Results: The screening identified the second reported m.3303C>T case as well as two patients with m.3243A>G variants and a rare variant exhibiting m.3290T>C. Conclusion: ARMS-PCR is superior to Sanger sequencing for the detection of variations exhibiting low heteroplasmy. These results provide "proof of concepts" for the implementation of this application for future screening of rare mtDNA variations in sample repositories.

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BACKGROUND: Mutations in mitochondrial tRNA (mt-tRNA) genes have been found to be associated with both syndromic and non-syndromic hearing impairment. However, the pathophysiology underlying mt-tRNA mutations in clinical expression of hearing loss remains poorly understood. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to explore the potential association between mttRNA mutations and hearing loss. METHODS AND RESULTS: We reported here the molecular features of a pedigree with maternally transmitted non-syndromic hearing loss. Among 12 matrilineal relatives, five of them suffered variable degree of hearing impairment, but none of them had any medical history of using aminoglycosides antibiotics (AmAn). Genetic screening of the complete mitochondrial genomes from the matrilineal relatives identified the coexistence of mt-tRNAHis G12192A and mt-tRNAThr G15927A mutations, together with a set of polymorphisms belonging to human mitochondrial haplogroup B5b1b. Interestingly, the G12192A mutation occurred 2-bp from the 3' end of the TψC loop of mt-tRNAHis, which was evolutionarily conserved from various species. In addition, the well-known G15927A mutation, which disrupted the highly conserved C-G base-pairing at the anticodon stem of mt-tRNAThr, may lead to the failure in mt-tRNA metabolism. Furthermore, a significant decreased in ATP production and an increased ROS generation were observed in polymononuclear leukocytes (PMNs) which were isolated from the deaf patients carrying these mt-tRNA mutations, suggested that the G12192A and G15927A mutations may cause mitochondrial dysfunction that was responsible for deafness. However, the absence of any functional mutations/variants in GJB2, GJB3, GJB6 and TRMU genes suggested that the nuclear genes may not play important roles in the clinical expression of non-syndromic hearing loss in this family. CONCLUSION: Our data indicated that mt-tRNAHis G12192A mutation may increase the penetrance and expressivity of deafness-associated m-tRNAThr G15927A mutation in this family.

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Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a very prevalent endocrine disease affecting reproductive women. Clinically, patients with this disorder are more vulnerable to develop type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), cardiovascular events, as well as metabolic syndrome (MetS). To date, the molecular mechanism underlying PCOS remains largely unknown. Previously, we showed that mitochondrial dysfunction caused by mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutation was an important cause for PCOS. In the current study, we described the clinical and biochemical features of a three-generation pedigree with maternally transmitted MetS, combined with PCOS. A total of three matrilineal relatives exhibited MetS including obesity, high triglyceride (TG) and Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels, and hypertension. Whereas one patient from the third generation manifestated PCOS. Mutational analysis of the whole mitochondrial genes from the affected individuals identified a set of genetic variations belonging to East Asia haplogroup B4b1c. Among these variants, the homoplasmic C3275T mutation disrupted a highly evolutionary conserved base-pairing (28A-46C) on the variable region of tRNALeu(UUR), whereas the T4363C mutation created a new base-pairing (31T-37A) in the anticodon stem of tRNAGln, furthermore, the A8343G mutation occurred at the very conserved position of tRNALys and may result the failure in mitochondrial tRNAs (mt-tRNAs) metabolism. Biochemical analysis revealed the deficiency in mitochondrial functions including lower levels of mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), ATP production and mtDNA copy number, while a significantly increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation was observed in polymononuclear leukocytes (PMNs) from the individuals carrying these mt-tRNA mutations, suggesting that these mutations may cause mitochondrial dysfunction that was responsible for the clinical phenotypes. Taken together, our data indicated that mt-tRNA mutations were associated with MetS and PCOS in this family, which shaded additional light into the pathophysiology of PCOS that were manifestated by mitochondrial dysfunction.

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Variants in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) are the most important causes for vision loss, the mt-tRNA variants being the largest group among them. In this study, we report the molecular characterization of 15 mt-tRNA variants with primary congenital glaucoma (PCG). Based on phylogenetic approach, we found that only half of them were definitely pathogenic with PCG, other mutations were single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in human population. Thus, our study provided novel insight into the pathogenesis of PCG.

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Alternations in mitochondrial genome resulting in mitochondrial dysfunction have long been hypothesized to be involved in tumorigenesis. Mitochondrial tRNA (mt-tRNA) is known for its high frequencies of polymorphisms and mutations, however, the roles of these mutations and polymorphisms in lung cancer are among heated debates. To evaluate the possible roles of reported mt-tRNA mutations in lung cancer, we examine recent published paper concerning three mt-tRNA mutations with lung cancer: A7460G in tRNA(Ser (UCN)) gene, G5563A in tRNA(Trp) gene and A12172G in tRNA(His) gene. We perform the phylogenetic approach to investigate the deleterious roles of these mutations in lung cancer, moreover, we use bioinformatics tool to predict the secondary structure of mt-tRNAs with and without these mutations. In addition, through the application of pathogenicity scoring system, we find that only the A12172G mutation is regarded as a pathogenic mutation, whereas other mutations may act as neutral polymorphisms in human population. Thus, our study provides the novel insight into the molecular pathogenesis of mt-tRNA mutations in lung cancer.