Genetic variation of mitochondrial complex I: its role in rare and common diseases

Funded Activity Summary

Our bodies convert food into energy in tiny cellular power plants called mitochondria. Each year about 50 Australian children inherit disorders of mitochondrial energy generation. The most severe disorders cause infant death, while others cause degenerative diseases in later life, particularly affecting brain and muscle. In most cases we lack effective treatments. The genetic causes of mitochondrial disorders are incredibly diverse, with over 70 disease genes known. Some are located on the unique mitochondrial DNA we inherit only from our mothers. Many more genes await discovery. This grant focuses on the most common energy generation disorder, known as Complex I deficiency. Complex I requires 46 separate components to be assembled together in order to work properly, but mutations in the 46 genes encoding these components only seem to explain disease in about half of all patients. Our aim is to identify new disease genes and to determine whether some patients have mutations in two different genes that interact to cause disease, rather than in a single gene. We will use a number of methods to pinpoint where in the genome the causative genes are located and then home in on the exact changes in the genes that cause disease. Identifying these genes will allow us to improve future diagnosis and prevention of mitochondrial disease. We will also generate mice in which one of the Complex I genes has been knocked out. These mice will allow us to better understand the basic disease mechanisms that link gene changes to disease. Understanding the basic biology may allow us to develop new methods of treatment. The mouse models will also be useful for trialling new treatments and for investigating the role of milder mitochondrial problems in common diseases such as diabetes and Parkinson disease. Any new treatments could potentially have wide application.

Funded Activity Details

Start Date: 01-01-2007

End Date: 01-01-2009

Funding Scheme: NHMRC Project Grants

Funding Amount: $628,415.00

Funder: National Health and Medical Research Council

Research Topics

ANZSRC Field of Research (FoR)

Genetics

ANZSRC Socio-Economic Objective (SEO)

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Other Keywords

determining genetic susceptibility to disease | genetic disease | genetic predisposition | inherited metabolic diseases | mitochondrial diseases: infant, child and adult | mitochondrial encephalomyopathies | mitochondrial genetics | pathogenic mechanisms | respiratory chain | transgenic animals

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