Lack of association between increased mitochondrial DNA 4977 deletion and ATP levels of sputum cells from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients versus healthy smokers

Levels of the mtDNA mutation including the 9common9 4977 bp mtDNA deletion is elevated in lung tissue of smokers relative to non-smokers. In this study we looked at smokers with and without COPD in order to evaluate the incidence of mtDNA4977 and mtDNA copy number in sputum cells and in peripheral blood leukocytes (PBLs) in relation to cellular ATP and oxidative stress status . The frequency of occurrence of this 4977 bp mutation was significantly higher proportion in the sputum cells of patients with COPD compared to smokers without COPD (p