Mitochondrial DNA deletion in human oocytes and embryos.
Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) deletions are present in both human oocytes and embryos. It has been found that these tissues contain a mtDNA mutation which is present in high amounts in patients with Kearns-Sayre syndrome ( KSS) and progressive external ophthalmoplegia. In the present study, the frequency of this KSS deletion was investigated in human oocytes and embryos. Using a nested primer polymerase chain chian reaction (PCR) strategy, the frequency of the KSS deletion in 74 human oocytes and 137 embryos was found to be 32.8 and 8.0% respectively. Using a 'long PCR-short PCR' nested primer strategy, the frequency of the KSS deletion in 181 human oocytes and 104 embryos was found to be 47.0 and 20.2% respectively. There was no statistical correlation between the age of the patients at the time of oocyte retrieval and the presence of the deleted molecules. There was a statistical difference between the presence of the deleted molecules in oocytes versus embryos using either technique (P < 0.0001). The relevance of these findings to the accumulation of low levels of deleted mtDNA in both oocytes and embryos is discussed in this study.[1]References
- Mitochondrial DNA deletion in human oocytes and embryos. Brenner, C.A., Wolny, Y.M., Barritt, J.A., Matt, D.W., Munné, S., Cohen, J. Mol. Hum. Reprod. (1998) [Pubmed]
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