Mutations of mitochondrial DNA and human death.

In the skeletal muscle of patients with mitochondrial myopathies (Kearns-Sayre syndrome and chronic progressive external ophthalmoplegia) and in the heart and skeletal muscle of healthy persons cells lacking cytochrome c oxidase are found. The respiratory-defective cells have the following features in common: onset of the defect at juvenile or adult age; progressive character of the defect with increasing age; and focal pattern of respiratory-deficient cells (fibers). A statistic mutation of mtDNA in affected cells is suggested to cause the defect of mitochondrial function. It is postulated that the continuous accumulation of respiratory-deficient cells, mainly in the human heart with incre…

Book Review: Cytochromes C. Evolutionary, Structural and Physicochemical Aspects. (Springer Series in Molecular Biology). By G. R. Moore And G. W. Pettigrew

Cytochromes c. Evolutionary, Structural, and Physicochemical Aspects. (Reihe: Springer Series in Molecular Biology.) VonG. R. Moore undG. W. Pettigrew. Springer, Berlin, 1990. XVI, 478 S., geb. 168.00 DM. - ISBN 3–540–50852-X