Mitochondrial tRNA mutations: clinical and functional perturbations

Abstract

During the last decade, there has been a progressive accumulation of reports that connect the identification of specific mitochondrial tRNA gene mutations to severe disorders in human. As a result, mitochondrial tRNA genes and their products have emerged as novel and essential molecular markers for wide biochemical and genetic screenings among different human populations. So far, 139 pathogenic and 243 polymorphic mt tRNA mutations have been described and they have become the foreground of numerous case reports. Given the complexity of mitochondrial genetics and biochemistry, the clinical manifestations of mitochondrial disorders are extremely heterogeneous. They range from lesions of single tissues or structures to more severe impairments including myopathies, encephalomyopathies, cardiomyopathies, or complex multisystem syndromes. Moreover, the exact mechanisms by which biochemical cascades can be dramatically affected by mitochondrial tRNA mutations still remain uncharacterized. However and regardless of the vast amount of information that daily emerges, only few efforts have been carried out to systematically record all the mitochondrial tRNA-associated pathogenic mutations or polymorphisms. In this report, we summarize all the clinical phenotypes associated with mitochondrial tRNA pathogenic mutations that have been reported so far. In a next step we describe in detail all the pathogenic and polymorphic mutations that have been recorded so far and we categorize them per tRNA species and per associated disease. Finally, we discuss the impact of the frequency of mitochondrial tRNA mutations in general population surveys and we preview any relevant implications on the essential functional integrity of mitochondrial biochemical pathways.