PURPOSE To determine the effects of mitochondrial targeting sequence (MTS) modified AAV gene delivery of wild-type human NADH dehydrogenase subunit 4 (ND4), mutated in most cases of the blinding disease Leber hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON), on the host mouse mitochondrial genome. METHODS We injected a modified self-complementary (sc) AAV vector, to which we appended the cytochrome oxidase...

PURPOSE To produce a mouse model of Leber hereditary optic neuropathy. METHODS A mutant ND4 subunit made compatible with the universal genetic code and containing an arginine-to-histidine substitution at residue 340, or a synthetic normal human ND4 gene was delivered to the mouse visual system. The expression and effects of the mutant ND4 gene on the optic nerve and cultured retinal ganglion ...

Leber hereditary optic neuropathy is due to mitochondrial DNA mutations; in ~70% of all cases, a point mutation in the mitochondrial NADH dehydrogenase subunit 4, ND4, gene leads to central vision loss. We optimized allotopic expression (nuclear transcription of a gene that is normally transcribed inside the mitochondria) aimed at designing a gene therapy for ND4; its coding sequence was associ...

Analyses of the Trypanosoma equiperdum (ATCC 30019) maxicircle reveals deletions, duplications and rearrangement compared to T. brucei. The genes for 9S rRNA and 12 proteins are absent. The 12S rRNA and cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) genes lack their 3' ends and are adjacent indicating deletion of intervening genes. The remaining two NADH dehydrogenase subunit genes (ND4 and ND5), the ribos...

Gene editing of the mitochondrial genome using CRISPR-Cas9 system is highly challenging mainly due to sub-efficient delivery guide RNA and Cas9 enzyme complexes into mitochondria. In this study, we were able perform gene in DNA by appending an NADH-ubiquinone oxidoreductase chain 4 (ND4) targeting transport-derived stem loop element (RP-loop) expressing with a preceding localization sequence. W...

Considerable evidence supports mutations in mitochondrial genes as the cause of maternally inherited diseases affecting tissues that rely primarily on oxidative energy metabolism, usually the nervous system, the heart, and skeletal muscles. Mitochondrial diseases are diverse, and animal models currently are limited. Here we introduced a mutant human mitochondrial gene responsible for Leber here...

Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON) is a disease that leads to blindness. Gene therapy has been investigated with some success, and could lead to important advancements in treating LHON. This was a prospective, open-label trial involving 9 LHON patients at Tongji Hospital, Wuhan, China, from August 2011 to December 2015. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the long-term outcomes of...

Two species of newts the genus Triturus are known to occur in Türkiye: ivanbureschi Wielstra & Arntzen, 2013 and T. anatolicus 2016. Here, we used mitochondrial ND4 gene as a genetic marker determine taxonomic position new population found Posof, Ardahan, northeastern Anatolia. It was shown belongs karelinii (Strauch, 1870), which is thus third present Türkiye.

Background: Aedes aegypti is the main vector of the yellow fever and dengue virus. This mosquito has become the major indirect cause of morbidity and mortality of the human worldwide. Dengue virus activity has been reported recently in the western areas of Saudi Arabia. There is no vaccine for dengue virus until now, and the control of the disease depends on the control of the vector. Objectiv...

The phylogeographic structure of the monotypic endemic southern African angulate tortoise Chersina angulata was investigated throughout its distribution with the use of partial sequences from three mtDNA loci (COI, cyt b and ND4). Phylogeographic and phylogenetic structuring obtained for the three mtDNA markers were highly congruent and suggested the presence of two genetically distinct, recipr...