Identification of sequence polymorphisms in the displacement loop region of mitochondrial DNA as a risk factor for renal cell carcinoma

Mitochondrial DNA variability and Covid-19 in the Slovak population

Recent studies have shown that mitochondria are involved in the pathogenesis of Covid-19. Mitochondria play a role in production of reactive oxygen species and induction of an innate immune response, both important during infections. Common variability of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) can affect oxidative phosphorylation and the risk or lethality of cardiovascular, neurodegenerative diseases and sepsis. However, it is unclear whether susceptibility of severe Covid-19 might be affected by mtDNA variation. Thus, we have analyzed mtDNA in a sample of 446 Slovak patients hospitalized due to Covid-19 and a control population group consisting of 1874 individuals. MtDNA variants in the HVRI region have been analyzed and classified into haplogroups at various phylogenetic levels. Binary logistic regression was used to assess the risk of Covid-19. Haplogroups T1, H11, K and variants 16256C > T, 16265A > C, 16293A > G, 16311 T > C and 16399A > G were associated with an increased Covid-19 risk. On contrary, Haplogroup J1, haplogroup clusters H + U5b and T2b + U5b, and the mtDNA variant 16189 T > C were associated with decreased risk of Covid-19. Following the application of the Bonferroni correction, statistical significance was observed exclusively for the cluster of haplogroups H + U5b. Unsurprisingly, the most significant factor contributing to the mortality of patients with Covid-19 is the age of patients. Our findings suggest that mtDNA haplogroups can play a role in Covid-19 pathogenesis, thus potentially useful in identifying susceptibility to its severe form. To confirm these associations, further studies taking into account the nuclear genome or other non-biological influences are needed.

The SNPs of mitochondrial DNA displacement loop region and mitochondrial DNA copy number associated with risk of polymyositis and dermatomyositis

Oxidative damage-induced mitochondrial dysfunction may activate muscle catabolism and autophagy pathways to initiate muscle weakening in idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIMs). In this study, Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the mitochondrial displacement loop (D-loop) and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) copy number were assessed and their association with the risk of polymyositis and dermatomyositis (PM/DM) was evaluated. Excessive D-loop SNPs (8.779 ± 1.912 vs. 7.972 ± 1.903, p = 0.004) correlated positively with mtDNA copy number (0.602 ± 0.457 vs. 0.300 ± 0.118, p < 0.001). Compared with that of the controls, the mtDNA of PM/DM patients showed D-loop SNP accumulation. In addition, the distribution frequencies of 16304C (p = 0.047) and 16519C (p = 0.043) were significantly higher in the patients with PM/DM. Subsequent analysis showed that reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation was increased in PM/DM patients compared with that in the controls (18,477.756 ± 13,574.916 vs. 14,484.191 ± 5703.097, p = 0.012). Further analysis showed that the PM/DM risk-related allele 16304C was significantly associated with lower IL-4 levels (p = 0.021), while 16519C had a trend to be associated with higher IL-2 expression (p = 0.064). The allele 16519C was associated with a positive antinuclear antibody (ANA) status in PM/DM patients (p = 0.011). Our findings suggest that mitochondrial D-loop SNPs could be potential biomarkers for PM/DM risk and these SNPs associated with cytokine expression may be involved in the development of PM/DM. Further, mtDNA copy number-mediated mitochondrial dysfunction may precede the onset of PM/DM.

Mitochondrial DNA sequence variation and risk of glioma

BACKGROUND

Malignant gliomas are the most common primary adult brain tumors, with a poor prognosis and ill-defined etiology. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequence variation has been linked with certain cancers; however, research on glioma is lacking.

METHODS

We examined the association of common (minor allele frequency ≥ 5%) germline mtDNA variants and haplogroups with glioma risk in 1,566 glioma cases and 1,017 controls from a US case-control study, and 425 glioma cases and 1,534 matched controls from the UK Biobank cohort (UKB). DNA samples were genotyped using the UK Biobank array that included a set of common and rare mtDNA variants. Risk associations were examined separately for glioblastoma (GBM) and lower grade tumors (non-GBM).

RESULTS

In the US study, haplogroup W was inversely associated with glioma when compared with haplogroup H (OR = 0.43, 95%CI: 0.23-0.79); this association was not demonstrated in the UKB (OR = 1.07, 95%CI: 0.47-2.43). In the UKB, the variant m.3010G > A was significantly associated with GBM (OR = 1.32; 95%CI: 1.01-1.73; p = 0.04), but not non-GBM (1.23; 95%CI: 0.78-1.95; p = 0.38); no similar association was observed in the US study. In the US study, the variant m.14798 T > C, was significantly associated with non-GBM (OR = 0.72; 95%CI: 0.53-0.99), but not GBM (OR = 0.86; 95%CI: 0.66-1.11), whereas in the UKB, a positive association was observed between this variant and GBM (OR = 1.46; 95%CI: 1.06-2.02) but not non-GBM (OR = 0.92; 95%CI: 0.52-1.63). None of these associations were significant after adjustment for multiple testing.

CONCLUSION

The association of inherited mtDNA variation, including rare and singleton variants, with glioma risk merits further study.

The Role of Mitochondria in Carcinogenesis

The mitochondria are essential for normal cell functioning. Changes in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) may affect the occurrence of some chronic diseases and cancer. This process is complex and not entirely understood. The assignment to a particular mitochondrial haplogroup may be a factor that either contributes to cancer development or reduces its likelihood. Mutations in mtDNA occurring via an increase in reactive oxygen species may favour the occurrence of further changes both in mitochondrial and nuclear DNA. Mitochondrial DNA mutations in postmitotic cells are not inherited, but may play a role both in initiation and progression of cancer. One of the first discovered polymorphisms associated with cancer was in the gene NADH-ubiquinone oxidoreductase chain 3 (mt-ND3) and it was typical of haplogroup N. In prostate cancer, these mutations and polymorphisms involve a gene encoding subunit I of respiratory complex IV cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 gene (COI). At present, a growing number of studies also address the impact of mtDNA polymorphisms on prognosis in cancer patients. Some of the mitochondrial DNA polymorphisms occur in both chronic disease and cancer, for instance polymorphism G5913A characteristic of prostate cancer and hypertension.

Role of Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) Variations in Cancer Development: A Systematic Review

mtDNA is the closed circular, ds-DNA present in mitochondria of eukaryotic cells and are inherited maternally. Besides being the power house of the cell, mitochondria are also responsible for the regulation of redox homeostasis, signaling, metabolism, immunity, survival and apoptosis. Lack of a 'Systematic Review' on mtDNA variations and cancers encouraged us to perform the present study. Pubmed', 'Embase' and 'Cochrane Library' databases were searched using keywords 'Mitochondrial DNA' OR 'mtDNA' OR 'mDNA' AND 'polymorphism' AND 'cancer' AND 'risk' to retrieve literature. Polymorphisms occupy first rank among mtDNA variations followed by CNV, MSI, mutations and hold a great potential to emerge as key predictors for human cancers.

Genetic variations of mitochondrial genome modify risk and prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma patients

BACKGROUND

Previous studies have indicated that mitochondrial genetic variations were associated with the risk of many cancers. However, there are few reports on the association between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) or haplogroups of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and the risk or prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

METHODS

In order to investigate the predictive and prognostic role of mtDNA SNPs and haplogroups in HCC, the mitochondrial genome of 188 HCC patients and 344 healthy controls were sequenced by next generation sequencing technology. Then, logistic regression analysis was used to determine the effect of mtDNA SNP or haplogroup on risk and prognosis of HCC patients.

RESULTS

The haplogroup M7 had an odds ratio (OR) of 0.47 (95% CI=0.24-0.91; P=0.026) to develop HCC. The frequency of 152T/C, 199T/C, 4048G/A, 9824T/C, 15784T/C, 16185C/T and 16399A/G was significantly different between HCC patients and the controls. In addition, multivariate analysis with COX hazards model showed that the patients with haplogroup M8 had lower survival rate than the patients with haplogroup D4 (HR=2.62, 95% CI=1.03-6.68; P=0.044). Three SNPs 15784T/C, 16185C/T and 16399A/G were also identified to have a statistically significant association with postoperative survival in HCC.

CONCLUSIONS

To date, these results provide the first evidence that mtDNA SNPs and haplogroups may be potential risk factors for susceptibility and survival of HCC patients.

Can Mitochondria DNA Provide a Novel Biomarker for Evaluating the Risk and Prognosis of Colorectal Cancer?

Colorectal cancer (CRC) was one of the most frequent cancers worldwide. Accurate risk and prognosis evaluation could obtain better quality of life and longer survival time for the patients. Current research hotspot was focus on the gene biomarker to evaluate the risk and prognosis. Mitochondrion contains its own DNA and regulates self-replicating so that it can be as a candidate biomarker for evaluating the risk and prognosis of colorectal cancer. But there were already huge controversies on this issue. The review was to summarize current viewpoints of the controversial issues and described our understanding from the four aspects including mtDNA copy number, mitochondrial displacement loop, mtDNA variation, and mtDNA microsatellite instability, wishing the summary of the mtDNA in colorectal cancer could provide a meaningful reference or a valuable direction in the future studies.

Novel variants of mitochondrial DNA associated with Type 2 diabetes mellitus in Moroccan population

In this study, we investigated the association of mtDNA variants and haplogroups with Type 2 diabetes (T2D) in Moroccan patients. The Hypervariable Segments 1 of the mtDNA was sequenced in 108 diabetic patients and 97 controls. Association analyses were performed using Fisher's exact test and multivariate logistic regression. The prevalence of five mtDNA variants (C16187T, C16270T, T16172C, A16293G, and C16320T) was significantly higher in cases than in controls. Among these variants, only C16270T (p = .02) and C16320T (p = .03) remains significant after adjusting by age and gender. We showed that C16270T and C16320T variants were strongly associated with increased risk of T2D in Moroccan patients.

Identification of sequence polymorphisms in the D-Loop region of mitochondrial DNA as a risk factor for gastric cancer

The accumulation of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the displacement loop (D-Loop) of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) has been identified for their association with cancer risk in different types of cancers. We investigated the gastric cancer risk profile of D-Loop SNPs in a case-control study. The frequent alleles of nucleotides 73G/A, 235A/G, 309C/C insert, 324C/G, 16,362T/C and 16,519C/T were significantly associated with an increased risk for gastric cancer, whereas the frequent alleles of nucleotides 523-524AC/del were associated with resistance to gastric cancer. In conclusion, SNPs in the mtDNA D-Loop were found to be valuable markers for gastric cancer risk evaluation.

De-methylation of displacement loop of mitochondrial DNA is associated with increased mitochondrial copy number and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide subunit 2 expression in colorectal cancer

DNA methylation occurs in the displacement loop (D-loop) region of mammals; however, D-loop regions of certain tumor tissue types were found to be de‑methylated. Whether hypomethylation of the D‑loop region is involved in the regulation of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) copy number and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide subunit 2 (ND‑2) expressions in colorectal cancer has remained elusive. In the present study, the association between methylation status of the D‑loop region, mtDNA copy number and ND‑2 expression was investigated in 65 colorectal cancer specimens and their corresponding non‑cancerous tissues. In addition, a de‑methylation experiment was performed on the Caco‑2 colorectal cancer cell line by using 5‑aza-2'-deoxycytidine (5‑Aza). The methylation rate of the D‑loop region in all 65 colorectal cancer tissues was markedly reduced when compared with that of their corresponding non‑cancerous tissues (13.8 vs. 81.5%; P<0.05). Furthermore, the methylation rate of the D‑loop region in colorectal cancer tissues was markedly decreased in clinicopathological stages III and IV compared with that in clinicopathological stages I and II (7.1 and 0% vs. 25 and 16%; P<0.05). In addition, the mean relative mtDNA copy number and ND‑2 expression in colorectal cancer tissues were increased compared with those in the corresponding non‑cancerous tissues. De‑methylation of the D‑loop region was associated with an elevated mtDNA copy number and an increased ND‑2 expression. Furthermore, the mtDNA copy number and ND‑2 expression in Caco‑2 cells were significantly increased after 5‑Aza treatment. In conclusion, de‑methylation of the D‑loop region is likely to be involved in the regulation of the mtDNA copy number and ND-2 expression.

An original phylogenetic approach identified mitochondrial haplogroup T1a1 as inversely associated with breast cancer risk in BRCA2 mutation carriers

INTRODUCTION

Individuals carrying pathogenic mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes have a high lifetime risk of breast cancer. BRCA1 and BRCA2 are involved in DNA double-strand break repair, DNA alterations that can be caused by exposure to reactive oxygen species, a main source of which are mitochondria. Mitochondrial genome variations affect electron transport chain efficiency and reactive oxygen species production. Individuals with different mitochondrial haplogroups differ in their metabolism and sensitivity to oxidative stress. Variability in mitochondrial genetic background can alter reactive oxygen species production, leading to cancer risk. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that mitochondrial haplogroups modify breast cancer risk in BRCA1/2 mutation carriers.

METHODS

We genotyped 22,214 (11,421 affected, 10,793 unaffected) mutation carriers belonging to the Consortium of Investigators of Modifiers of BRCA1/2 for 129 mitochondrial polymorphisms using the iCOGS array. Haplogroup inference and association detection were performed using a phylogenetic approach. ALTree was applied to explore the reference mitochondrial evolutionary tree and detect subclades enriched in affected or unaffected individuals.

RESULTS

We discovered that subclade T1a1 was depleted in affected BRCA2 mutation carriers compared with the rest of clade T (hazard ratio (HR) = 0.55; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.34 to 0.88; P = 0.01). Compared with the most frequent haplogroup in the general population (that is, H and T clades), the T1a1 haplogroup has a HR of 0.62 (95% CI, 0.40 to 0.95; P = 0.03). We also identified three potential susceptibility loci, including G13708A/rs28359178, which has demonstrated an inverse association with familial breast cancer risk.

CONCLUSIONS

This study illustrates how original approaches such as the phylogeny-based method we used can empower classical molecular epidemiological studies aimed at identifying association or risk modification effects.

Mitochondrial variation and the risk of age-related macular degeneration across diverse populations

Substantial progress has been made in identifying susceptibility variants for age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The majority of research to identify genetic variants associated with AMD has focused on nuclear genetic variation. While there is some evidence that mitochondrial genetic variation contributes to AMD susceptibility, to date, these studies have been limited to populations of European descent resulting in a lack of data in diverse populations. A major goal of the Epidemiologic Architecture for Genes Linked to Environment (EAGLE) study is to describe the underlying genetic architecture of common, complex diseases across diverse populations. This present study sought to determine if mitochondrial genetic variation influences risk of AMD across diverse populations. We performed a genetic association study to investigate the contribution of mitochondrial DNA variation to AMD risk. We accessed samples from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys, a U.S population-based, cross-sectional survey collected without regard to health status. AMD cases and controls were selected from the Third NHANES and NHANES 2007-2008 datasets which include non-Hispanic whites, non-Hispanic blacks, and Mexican Americans. AMD cases were defined as those > 60 years of age with early/late AMD, as determined by fundus photography. Targeted genotyping was performed for 63 mitochondrial SNPs and participants were then classified into mitochondrial haplogroups. We used logistic regression assuming a dominant genetic model adjusting for age, sex, body mass index, and smoking status (ever vs. never). Regressions and meta-analyses were performed for individual SNPs and mitochondrial haplogroups J, T, and U. We identified five SNPs associated with AMD in Mexican Americans at p < 0.05, including three located in the control region (mt16111, mt16362, and mt16319), one in MT-RNR2 (mt1736), and one in MT-ND4 (mt12007). No mitochondrial variant or haplogroup was significantly associated in non-Hispanic blacks or non- Hispanic whites in the final meta-analysis. This study provides further evidence that mitochondrial variation plays a role in susceptibility to AMD and contributes to the knowledge of the genetic architecture of AMD in Mexican Americans.

Association of genetic variations in the mitochondrial D-loop with β-thalassemia

Beta-thalassemia, one of the most common single-gene disorders, is the result of reduced or absent production of β-globin chains. Patients with β-thalassemia show weak genotype-phenotype correlations. Mitochondrial DNA polymorphisms are a potential source for different physiological and pathological characteristics and have been found to be associated as genetic modifiers with various pathophysiologies, including cancers and neurodegenerative diseases. A group of 35 patients with β-thalassemia was investigated for the presence of mtDNA D-loop polymorphisms in comparison with 504 normal controls. We found four mtDNA D-loop polymorphisms at nucleotides 16,069C > T, 16,189T > C, 16,319G > A, and 16,519T > C that showed significant differences between patients and normal subjects. There is no strong proof for the association of these polymorphisms with β-thalassemia. It is hypothesized that iron overload or its effects on sequestration of calcium or zinc can lead to oxidative stress and ROS production inside the mitochondria. Therefore, possible accompanying of mtDNA polymorphisms with β-thalassemia disease may complicate the genotype-phenotype correlation and could affect the clinical outcomes in the patients.

Mitochondrial DNA haplogroup N is associated good outcome of gastric cancer

Accumulation of mutations and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the displacement loop (D-loop) of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) has been identified for their association with cancer risk and disease outcome in a variety of cancers. We have identified cancer risk-associated D-loop SNPs in gastric cancer patients. In this study, we evaluated the predictive value of these SNPs for cancer outcome. Two SNP sites of nucleotides 489C/T and 523-524AC/del were identified for statistically significant prediction of postoperative survival in gastric cancer by univariate analysis with log-rank test. In addition, the mitochondrial DNA haplogroup N (489T) contributed to the good survival of gastric cancer patients compared with the mitochondrial DNA haplogroup M (489C) genotype (relative risk, 1.753; 95 %CI, 1.005-3.060; p = 0.048) by multivariate analysis with COX hazards model. In conclusion, analysis of genetic polymorphisms in the mitochondrial D-loop can help identify subgroups of patients who are at a high risk of a poor disease outcome.

Association of sequence polymorphism in the mitochondrial D-loop with chronic kidney disease

BACKGROUND

The mitochondrial displacement loop (D-loop) is known to accumulate mutations and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at a higher frequency than other regions of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA).

METHODS

This is a case-control study. We sequenced SNPs in the D-loop of mtDNA and investigated their association with the risk of chronic kidney disease (CKD).

RESULTS

A total of 144 SNPs referring to the positions of the Revised Cambridge Reference Sequence (rCRS) for mitochondrial genome were identified in a case-control study. The minor alleles of nucleotides 73G, 146C, 150T, 194T, 195C and 310C were associated with an increased risk for CKD patients.

CONCLUSION

Analysis of genetic polymorphisms in the mitochondrial D-loop can help identify the people who are at a high risk of developing chronic kidney disease. These SNPs can be considered as potential predictors for CKD.