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    Mitochondrial and nuclear disease panel (Mito‐aND‐Panel): Combined sequencing of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA by a cost‐effective and sensitive NGS‐based method
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    Abstract Background The diagnosis of mitochondrial disorders is challenging because of the clinical variability and genetic heterogeneity of these conditions. Next‐Generation Sequencing (NGS) technology offers a robust high‐throughput platform for nuclear and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analyses. Method We developed a custom Agilent SureSelect Mito chondrial a nd N uclear D isease Panel (Mito‐aND‐Panel) capture kit that allows parallel enrichment for subsequent NGS‐based sequence analysis of nuclear mitochondrial disease‐related genes and the complete mtDNA genome. Sequencing of enriched mtDNA simultaneously with nuclear genes was compared with the separated sequencing of the mitochondrial genome and whole exome sequencing (WES). Results The Mito‐aND‐Panel permits accurate detection of low‐level mtDNA heteroplasmy due to a very high sequencing depth compared to standard diagnostic procedures using Sanger sequencing/SNaPshot and WES which is crucial to identify maternally inherited mitochondrial disorders. Conclusion We established a NGS‐based method with combined sequencing of the complete mtDNA and nuclear genes which enables a more sensitive heteroplasmy detection of mtDNA mutations compared to traditional methods. Because the method promotes the analysis of mtDNA variants in large cohorts, it is cost‐effective and simple to setup, we anticipate this is a highly relevant method for sequence‐based genetic diagnosis in clinical diagnostic applications.
    Keywords:
    Heteroplasmy
    Mitochondrial disease
    Nuclear gene
    Sanger sequencing
    Human mitochondrial genetics
    Nuclear DNA
    Abstract Mitochondria, mainly known as energy factories of eukaryotic cells, also exert several additional signaling and metabolic functions and are today recognized as major cellular biosynthetic and signaling hubs. Mitochondria possess their own genome (mitochondrial DNA—mtDNA), that encodes proteins essential for oxidative phosphorylation, and mutations in it are an important contributor to human disease. The mtDNA mutations often exist in heteroplasmic conditions, with both healthy and mutant versions of the mtDNA residing in patients’ cells and the level of mutant mtDNA may vary between different tissues and organs and affect the clinical outcome of the disease. Thus, shifting the ratio between healthy and mutant mtDNA in patients’ cells provides an intriguing therapeutic option for mtDNA diseases. In this review we describe current strategies for modulating mitochondrial heteroplasmy levels with engineered endonucleases including mitochondrially targeted TALENs and Zinc finger nucleases (ZFNs) and discuss their therapeutic potential. These gene therapy tools could in the future provide therapeutic help both for patients with mitochondrial disease as well as in preventing the transfer of pathogenic mtDNA mutations from a mother to her offspring.
    Heteroplasmy
    Mitochondrial disease
    Human mitochondrial genetics
    Abstract Background The diagnosis of mitochondrial disorders is challenging because of the clinical variability and genetic heterogeneity of these conditions. Next‐Generation Sequencing (NGS) technology offers a robust high‐throughput platform for nuclear and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analyses. Method We developed a custom Agilent SureSelect Mito chondrial a nd N uclear D isease Panel (Mito‐aND‐Panel) capture kit that allows parallel enrichment for subsequent NGS‐based sequence analysis of nuclear mitochondrial disease‐related genes and the complete mtDNA genome. Sequencing of enriched mtDNA simultaneously with nuclear genes was compared with the separated sequencing of the mitochondrial genome and whole exome sequencing (WES). Results The Mito‐aND‐Panel permits accurate detection of low‐level mtDNA heteroplasmy due to a very high sequencing depth compared to standard diagnostic procedures using Sanger sequencing/SNaPshot and WES which is crucial to identify maternally inherited mitochondrial disorders. Conclusion We established a NGS‐based method with combined sequencing of the complete mtDNA and nuclear genes which enables a more sensitive heteroplasmy detection of mtDNA mutations compared to traditional methods. Because the method promotes the analysis of mtDNA variants in large cohorts, it is cost‐effective and simple to setup, we anticipate this is a highly relevant method for sequence‐based genetic diagnosis in clinical diagnostic applications.
    Heteroplasmy
    Mitochondrial disease
    Nuclear gene
    Sanger sequencing
    Human mitochondrial genetics
    Nuclear DNA
    Citations (25)
    Heteroplasmy
    Mitochondrial disease
    Mitochondrial encephalomyopathy
    Human mitochondrial genetics
    Myoclonic epilepsy
    MELAS syndrome
    Low-abundance mutations in mitochondrial populations (mutations with minor allele frequency ≤ 1%), are associated with cancer, aging, and neurodegenerative disorders. While recent progress in high-throughput sequencing technology has significantly improved the heteroplasmy identification process, the ability of this technology to detect low-abundance mutations can be affected by the presence of similar sequences originating from nuclear DNA (nDNA). To determine to what extent nDNA can cause false positive low-abundance heteroplasmy calls, we have identified mitochondrial locations of all subsequences that are common or similar (one mismatch allowed) between nDNA and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). Performed analysis revealed up to a 25-fold variation in the lengths of longest common and longest similar (one mismatch allowed) subsequences across the mitochondrial genome. The size of the longest subsequences shared between nDNA and mtDNA in several regions of the mitochondrial genome were found to be as low as 11 bases, which not only allows using these regions to design new, very specific PCR primers, but also supports the hypothesis of the non-random introduction of mtDNA into the human nuclear DNA. Analysis of the mitochondrial locations of the subsequences shared between nDNA and mtDNA suggested that even very short (36 bases) single-end sequencing reads can be used to identify low-abundance variation in 20.4% of the mitochondrial genome. For longer (76 and 150 bases) reads, the proportion of the mitochondrial genome where nDNA presence will not interfere found to be 44.5 and 67.9%, when low-abundance mutations at 100% of locations can be identified using 417 bases long single reads. This observation suggests that the analysis of low-abundance variations in mitochondria population can be extended to a variety of large data collections such as NCBI Sequence Read Archive, European Nucleotide Archive, The Cancer Genome Atlas, and International Cancer Genome Consortium.
    Heteroplasmy
    Nuclear DNA
    Human mitochondrial genetics
    Mitochondrial disease
    Citations (38)
    Mitochondria contain multiple copies of their own genome (mitochondrial DNA; mtDNA). Once mitochondria are damaged by mutant mtDNA, mitochondrial dysfunction is strongly induced, followed by symptomatic appearance of mitochondrial diseases. Major genetic causes of mitochondrial diseases are defects in mtDNA, and the others are defects of mitochondria-associating genes that are encoded in nuclear DNA (nDNA). Numerous pathogenic mutations responsible for various types of mitochondrial diseases have been identified in mtDNA; however, it remains uncertain why mitochondrial diseases present a wide variety of clinical spectrum even among patients carrying the same mtDNA mutations (e.g., variations in age of onset, in affected tissues and organs, or in disease progression and phenotypic severity). Disease-relevant induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) derived from mitochondrial disease patients have therefore opened new avenues for understanding the definitive genotype-phenotype relationship of affected tissues and organs in various types of mitochondrial diseases triggered by mtDNA mutations. In this concise review, we briefly summarize several recent approaches using patient-derived iPSCs and their derivatives carrying various mtDNA mutations for applications in human mitochondrial disease modeling, drug discovery, and future regenerative therapeutics.
    Heteroplasmy
    Mitochondrial disease
    Human mitochondrial genetics
    Citations (27)
    Mitochondrial disorders are caused by deficient respiratory chain function, resulting in a complex series of pathophysiological events. Genetic counselling is complicated because the respiratory chain subunits are encoded by both nuclear and mitochondrial DNA genes. Only a minority of the nuclear genes involved in mitochondrial function have been identified, and even fewer are associated with human mitochondrial disease. Mutations in mitochondrial DNA are particularly challenging because of the complexities of mitochondrial genetics: the mitochondrial DNA is strictly maternally inherited; there are 103–104 copies of mitochondrial DNA in somatic cells; affected individuals often have a mixture of normal and mutated mitochondrial DNA (mitochondrial DNA heteroplasmy), the level of mutated mitochondrial DNA (the mitochondrial DNA mutation load) may vary widely between different maternally related individuals, between tissues and with time; a particular minimal threshold of mutated mitochondrial DNA is required to impair respiratory chain function; and there is not always a good correlation between mutant load and phenotype.
    Heteroplasmy
    Human mitochondrial genetics
    Mitochondrial disease
    Nuclear DNA
    DNAJA3
    Mitochondrial respiratory chain
    MT-RNR1
    Citations (17)