The landscape of mitochondrial DNA variation in human colorectal cancer on the background of phylogenetic knowledge

Recently, an increasing number of studies indicate that mutations in mitochondrial genome may contribute to cancer development or metastasis. Hence, it is important to determine whether the mitochondrial DNA might be a good, clinically applicable marker of cancer. This review describes hereditary as well as somatic mutations reported in mitochondrial DNA of colorectal cancer cells. We showed here that the entire mitochondrial genome mutational spectra are different in colorectal cancer and non-tumor cells. We also placed the described mutations on the phylogenetic context, which highlighted the recurrent problem of data quality. Therefore, the most important rules for adequately assessing the quality of mitochondrial DNA sequence analysis in cancer have been summarized. As follows from this review, neither the reliable spectrum of mtDNA somatic mutations nor the association between hereditary mutations and colorectal cancer risk have been resolved. This indicates that only high resolution studies on mtDNA variability, followed by a proper data interpretation employing phylogenetic knowledge may finally verify the utility of mtDNA sequence (if any) in clinical practice.     

鼠毛及脑线粒体DNA片段缺失与增龄的关系

以聚合酶链反应（ＰＣＲ）技术检测不同年龄Ｂａｌｂ／ｃ小鼠脑细胞线粒体ＤＮＡ片段缺失与增龄的关系．发现老年鼠脑细胞线粒体３８６７ｂｐ片段缺失率为５０％;而断奶鼠与青年鼠均无此缺失片段出现;用鼠毛为材料进行无损伤检测亦获类似的结果．有人认为线粒体ＤＮＡ片段缺失率可作为生物衰老的一种生物学标志     

Mitochondrial deoxyguanosine kinase mutations and mitochondrial DNA depletion syndrome

Mitochondrial deoxyguanosine kinase (dGK) catalyzes the initial phosphorylation of purine deoxynucleosides. Mutations in the dGK gene leading to deficiency in dGK activity is one of the causes of severe mitochondrial DNA depletion diseases. We used site-directed mutagenesis to introduce the clinically observed genetic alterations in the dGK gene and characterized the recombinant enzymes. The R142K enzyme had very low activity with deoxyguanosine and no activity with deoxyadenosine. The E227K mutant enzyme had unchanged K(m) values for all its substrates but very low V(max) values. C-terminal truncated dGK proteins were inactive. These results may help to define the role of dGK in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) precursor synthesis.     

Mitochondrial DNA mutations and ageing

The mechanism by which we age has sparked a huge number of theories, and is an area of intense debate. As the elderly population rises, the importance of elucidating these mechanisms is becoming more apparent as age is the single biggest risk factor for a number of diseases such as cancer, diabetes and neurodegenerative disease. Mitochondrial DNA (MtDNA) mutations have been shown to accumulate in cells and tissues during the ageing process; however the question as to whether these mutations have a causal role in the ageing process remains an area of uncertainty. Here we review the current literature, and discuss the evidence for and against a causal role of mtDNA mutations in ageing and in the pathogenesis of age-related disease.     

Investigation of Heteroplasmy in the Human Mitochondrial DNA Control Region: A Synthesis of Observations from More Than 5000 Global Population Samples

Instances of point and length heteroplasmy in the mitochondrial DNA control region were compiled and analyzed from over 5,000 global human population samples. These data represent observations from a large and broad population sample, representing nearly 20 global populations. As expected, length heteroplasmy was frequently observed in the HVI, HVII and HVIII C-stretches. Length heteroplasmy was also observed in the AC dinucleotide repeat region, as well as other locations. Point heteroplasmy was detected in approximately 6% of all samples, and while the vast majority of heteroplasmic samples comprised two molecules differing at a single position, samples exhibiting two and three mixed positions were also observed in this data set. In general, the sites at which heteroplasmy was most commonly observed correlated with reported control region mutational hotspots. However, for some sites, observations of heteroplasmy did not mirror established mutation rate data, suggesting the action of other mechanisms, both selective and neutral. Interestingly, these data indicate that the frequency of heteroplasmy differs between particular populations, perhaps reflecting variable mutation rates among different mtDNA lineages and/or artifacts of particular population groups. The results presented here contribute to our general understanding of mitochondrial DNA control region heteroplasmy and provide additional empirical information on the mechanisms contributing to mtDNA control region mutation and evolution. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

High frequency of mitochondrial DNA D-loop mutations in Ewing’s sarcoma

Somatic mutations and polymorphisms in the noncoding displacement (D)-loop of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) are present in a variety of human cancers. To investigate whether Ewing’s sarcoma (EWS) harbors genetic alterations within the D-loop region and their potential association with EWS carcinogenesis, we analyzed and compared the complete mtDNA D-loop sequences from 17 pairs of tumor tissues and corresponding peripheral blood samples using the direct DNA sequencing method. Our results revealed that 12 of the 17 EWS tumor specimens (70.6%) carried 19 somatic mutations in the D-loop of mtDNA, including 11 single-base substitutions, 3 insertions and 5 deletions. Among the tested 17 patients, we screened a total of 40 germline polymorphisms including one novel sequence variant in the D-loop fragment. Most of these identified mutations and germline variations were clustered within two hypervariable segments (HVS1 and HVS2) as well as the homopolymeric C stretch between nucleotide position 303 and 309. In addition, there was no significant correlation between mtDNA D-loop mutations and various clinicopathological factors of EWS. In conclusion, our study reports for the first time that mtDNA D-loop mutations occur at a high frequency in EWS. These data provide evidence of mtDNA alterations’ possible involvement in the initiation and/or progression of this rare malignancy.     

一种棉花线粒体DNA的提取方法

线粒体是重要的细胞器,它有自身的基因组。其基因组DNA与细胞核基因组DNA相比,含量较低。棉花当中富含棉酚、丹宁等物质,这对提取DNA有很大的影响。因此我们根据棉花自身的特点,找到了一种提取棉花线粒体DNA经济有效的方法,其质量可以满足限制性酶切、PCR、分子杂交等实验的要求。     

太湖新银鱼线粒体D-loop和Cytb片段序列结构与进化速率比较

共获得49个太湖新银鱼(Neosalanx taihuensis)个体的线粒体细胞色素b(Cyt b)全序列和控制区(D-loop)部分序列。所测线粒体D-loop部分序列长度变化范围为648～680bp,识别到位于前端的一个串联重复序列、一个终止相关序列(ETAS),3个中央保守区保守序列(CSB-F、CSB-E、CSB-D)及一个保守序列区保守序列(CSB-1),结构与其他鱼类的研究结果类似。太湖新银鱼线粒体Cyt b和D-loop片段的相对进化速率的比较研究结果表明,太湖新银鱼D-loop总的序列多态性位点的比例为0.83%,低于线粒体Cyt b部分总的序列多态性位点的比例(1.31%)。假设太湖新银鱼Cyt b基因平均进化速率相对值为1,贝叶斯(Bayes)MCMC模拟给出Cyt b基因的相对速率区间估计为1.000±0.131,而D-loop基因的相对速率为0.859±0.261,表明太湖新银鱼D-loop基因的进化速率低于Cyt b基因,同时,后验概率分布的变异方差也比较大。说明Cyt b基因比D-loop基因具有相对较高的进化速率,也相对更接近分子钟假设。因此,可以认为Cyt b基因比D-loop基因更适于太湖新银鱼种内及近缘种间相关分子生态及系统地理格局的研究。     

川金丝猴mtDNA D-loop序列遗传多态性分析

采用非损伤性DNA分析技术,分析了甘肃白水江保护区、陕西长青保护区、湖北神农架保护区3个川金丝猴(Rhinopithecus roxellana)种群中的20份粪便样品和2份肌肉样品,成功扩增了mtDNA D-loop区部分片段。经过GenBank数据库的BLAST比对,确定了22份样品均来自川金丝猴,经过Clustal W和DNASP软件分析,在22份川金丝猴mtDNA D-loop区393bp中,共检测出54个多态性位点,分为17个单倍型,单倍型多态性(h)为0.965,核苷酸多态性(π)为3.10%。3个种群之间的遗传距离为0.003～0.098,核苷酸差异为0.08%～2.80%,表明所得到的川金丝猴样品中存在着较丰富的遗传多态性,种群间存在一定的遗传差异。     

鱼类线粒体DNA多态性研究

介绍了鱼类线粒体ＤＮＡ多态性研究的方法及其在鱼类各学科领域中的广泛应用。     

microRNA-195 promotes apoptosis and suppresses tumorigenicity of human colorectal cancer cells

Deregulated microRNAs and their roles in cancer development have attracted much attention. In the present study, we analyzed the roles of miR-195 in colorectal cancer pathogenesis, as its participation in some other types of cancer has been suggested by previous reports. By comparing miR-195 expression in 81 human colorectal cancer tissues and matched non-neoplastic mucosa tissues, we found that miR-195 was downregulated in cancer tissues. And restoration of miR-195 in colorectal cancer cell lines HT29 and LoVo could reduce cell viability, promote cell apoptosis and suppress tumorigenicity. Moreover, important antiapoptotic Bcl-2 was identified to be directly targeted by miR-195, and miR-195 was further suggested to exert its proapoptotic function mainly through targeting Bcl-2 expression. Taken together, our study provides important roles of miR-195 in colorectal cancer pathogenesis and implicates its potential application in cancer therapy.     

Molecular analysis of mitochondrial DNA mutations from bleomycin-treated rats

In our previous studies, we have shown the mutagenicity of bleomycin (BLM) at the nuclear hprt locus. In the present study we have analyzed mutagenic effects of BLM in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) using short extension-PCR (SE-PCR) method for detection of low-copy deletions. Fisher 344 rats were treated with a single dose of BLM and total DNA preparations from splenic lymphocytes were processed in SE-PCR assay. Spontaneous deletions were typically flanked by direct repeats (78.5%), while the in BLM-treated group, direct repeats were found in only 46.6% of breakpoints. The ratio between deletions based on direct repeats and random sequence deletions changed from 3.67 in control group to 0.87 in BLM-treated animals, which corresponds to an approximate 1.7-fold increase in the deletion mutation frequency. Furthermore, 62.5% of deletions not flanked by direct repeats in the treated group contained cleavage sites for BLM. The localization of breakpoints was not entirely random. We have found four clusters containing deletions from both groups indicative of deletion hot spots. The results indicate that BLM exposure may be associated with the induction of mtDNA mutations, and suggest the utility of SE-PCR method for evaluating drug-induced genotoxicity.     

Sequence variations of mitochondrial DNA D-loop region are highly frequent events in familial breast cancer

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is known for its high frequencies of polymorphisms and mutations. The non-coding displacement (D)-loop, especially a mononucleotide repeat (poly-C) between 303 and 315 nucleotides (D310), has been recently identified as a frequent hotspot of mutations in human neoplasia, including breast cancer. To further explore the sequence variations of mitochondrial D-loop region in familial breast cancer and their possible associations with breast cancer risk, PCR-SSCP and direct DNA sequencing methods were used to detect the variants of the mtDNA D-Loop in 23 familial breast cancer patients as well as three high-risk cancer families. Compared to that in sporadic breast tumors (53.3%, 16/30) and healthy blood donors (6.7%, 2/30), we identified a total of 126 sequence alterations in 23/23 (100%) of familial breast cancer patients, including eight novel nucleotide variants. Among these changes, A to G at nt.263, T to C at nt.489, T to C at nt.310, TC insertion at nt.311, CA deletion at nt.522, and C to G at nt.527 were highly frequent ones. In addition, among three high-risk cancer families, we found that individuals affected with breast cancer harbored more mtDNA sequence variants in mtDNA D310 area than other affected family members. Together, our data indicate that sequence variants within the mtDNA D-Loop region are frequent events in Chinese familial breast cancer patients. Some of these nucleotide abnormalities, particularly those in D310 segment, might be involved in the breast carcinogenesis and could be included in a panel of molecular biomarkers for cancer susceptibility early-detection strategy.     

两种竹鸡线粒体DNA的遗传变异

采用PCR和直接测序的方法测定灰胸竹鸡(Bambusicola thoracica)与棕胸竹鸡(B.fytchii)线粒体DNA(mtDNA)控制区1142bp的序列,分析二者间的遗传变异。两种竹鸡间共发现32个变异位点,其中20个转换,12个颠换。灰胸竹鸡mtDNA控制区的碱基含量T34.26%、C25.98%、A24.84%和G14.96%,棕胸竹鸡的分别是T34.47%、C25.60%、A25.03%和G14.93%。t-检验分析显示,两种竹鸡mtDNA控制区的T和C含量差异显著。在系统发生树上,两种竹鸡在系统发生树各聚成一支,支持率达到100%。两种竹鸡间的遗传距离是0.0396。根据分子钟计算,它们大约在200万年前分歧进化。推测它们的物种形成主要受更新世第二次寒冷期的影响。     

Neuropathological Aspects of Mitochondrial DNA Disease

Mitochondrial DNA disorders are an important cause of neurological disease, yet despite our awareness of the importance of these conditions, relatively little is known about the neuropathology of these disorders and even less about the mechanisms involved in neuronal dysfunction and death. In this review we detail important features from neuropathological studies available and highlight deficiencies that are currently limiting our understanding of mitochondrial DNA disease. We also discuss possible future approaches that might resolve some of these outstanding issues. Further study of these disorders is critical because mitochondria play a central role in neuronal survival and it is likely that an understanding of the mechanisms involved in neuronal dysfunction and cell death in mitochondrial DNA disease may have implications for other neurodegenerative diseases.     

三种小型猪线粒体DNA控制区的比较研究

目的分析五指山小型猪、巴马小型猪和贵州香猪线粒体DNA控制区碱基序列,比较研究不同猪种的遗传标志。方法应用PCR技术分别对这三种小型猪的血液总DNA样品中线粒体DNA D-loop区进行扩增,测序比对。结果猪的线粒体DNA D-loop区分三个区域。I区（靠近5’端区域）704bp,五指山小型猪在此区共有6个变异位点,通过6个变异位点中归纳出3个单倍体,而巴马小型猪在此区有9个变异位点,通过9个变异位点归纳出4个单倍体,贵州香猪在此区共有6个变异位点,通过6个变异位点归纳出3个单倍体。Ⅱ区（串联重复序列区）,五指山小型猪、巴马小型猪和贵州香猪序列相同。Ⅲ区（靠近3’端区域）三种小型猪的序列几乎相同。结论五指山小型猪、巴马小型猪和贵州香猪三种小型猪之间线粒体DNA碱基序列变异位点较少,五指山小型猪和巴马小型猪亲缘关系较近。     

基于线粒体DNA细胞色素b基因和控制区序列分析西藏雅鲁藏布江黄斑褶鮡种群遗传多样性

采用线粒体DNA（mtDNA）Cyt b基因和D-loop控制区为分子标记,对分布于西藏雅鲁藏布江大峡谷以上里龙段和以下墨脱段2个群体的黄斑褶 （Pseudecheneis sulcata）共60个样本进行遗传多样性研究。获得联合基因有效序列长度为1 893 bp,包括Cyt b基因1 060 bp和D-loop控制区833 bp。结果显示,里龙和墨脱2个群体的单倍型多样性值（Hd）均较高（0.701和0.761）,核苷酸多样性值（π）均较低（0.001 00和0.001 09）;高频率的单倍型Hap1和Hap2为2个群体所共享,推测为祖先单倍型;同时,里龙和墨脱群体分别存在5个和6个特有单倍型,且在2个群体中不共享;分子方差分析（AMOVA）显示遗传变异主要来源于种群内部,群体间呈中度遗传分化水平（Fst = 0.090 44,P < 0.05）;中性检验（Tajima''s D、Fu''s Fs）和核苷酸不配对（SSD、Hir）分析结果揭示,黄斑褶 种群曾经历过种群扩张现象。本研究推测,黄斑褶 2个群体间的基因流动存在障碍,雅鲁藏布大峡谷的海拔落差及水文情势等生态屏障可能是阻碍黄斑褶 迁徙和交流的主要原因。     

Stool DNA test targeting methylated syndecan-2 (SDC2) as a noninvasive screening method for colorectal cancer

Despite the steadily increasing worldwide incidence of colorectal cancer (CRC), an effective noninvasive approach for early detection of CRC is still under investigation. The guaiac-based fecal occult blood test (FOBT) and fecal immunochemical test (FIT) have gained popularity as noninvasive CRC screening tests owing to their convenience and relatively low costs. However, the FOBT and FIT have limited sensitivity and specificity. To develop a noninvasive tool for the detection of CRC, we investigated the sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of a stool DNA test targeting methylated syndecan-2 (SDC2), which is frequently methylated in patients with CRC. The present study enrolled 62 patients diagnosed as having stage 0-IV CRC and 76 healthy participants between July 2018 and June 2019 from two institutions. Approximately 4.5 g of stool sample was collected from each participant for detection of human methylated SDC2 gene. In total, 48 of 62 (77.4%) patients with CRC showed positive results, whereas 67 out of 76 (88.2%) healthy participants showed negative results. The area under the curve of the receiver operating characteristic curve constructed was 0.872 for discrimination between patients with CRC and healthy individuals. The present study highlights the potential of the fecal methylated SDC2 test as a noninvasive detection method for CRC screening with a relatively favorable sensitivity of 77.4%, a specificity of 88.2% and a positive predictive value of 84.2% compared with other available fecal tests. Further multicenter clinical trials comprising subjects of varied ethnicities are required to validate this test for the mass screening of patients with CRC.