Thymidine phosphorylase gene mutations in MNGIE, a human mitochondrial disorder.
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Nishino I, Spinazzola A, Hirano M
Thymidine phosphorylase gene mutations in MNGIE, a human mitochondrial disorder.
Science. 1999 Jan 29;283(5402):689-92.
- PubMed ID
- 9924029 [ View in PubMed]
- Abstract
Mitochondrial neurogastrointestinal encephalomyopathy (MNGIE) is an autosomal recessive human disease associated with multiple deletions of skeletal muscle mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), which have been ascribed to a defect in communication between the nuclear and mitochondrial genomes. Examination of 12 MNGIE probands revealed homozygous or compound-heterozygous mutations in the gene specifying thymidine phosphorylase (TP), located on chromosome 22q13.32-qter. TP activity in leukocytes from MNGIE patients was less than 5 percent of controls, indicating that loss-of-function mutations in TP cause the disease. The pathogenic mechanism may be related to aberrant thymidine metabolism, leading to impaired replication or maintenance of mtDNA, or both.