ArticleBMC genomics2017
Independent impacts of aging on mitochondrial DNA quantity and quality in humans.
Article in BMC genomics, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 108 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
108 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 174 citations in OpenAlex.
- Whole blood mitochondrial copy number in clinical populations with mood disorders: A meta-analysis: Blood mitochondrial copy number and mood disorders.Psychiatry research · 2024Pooled it
- A meta-analysis and a functional study support the influence of mtDNA variant m.16519C on the risk of rapid progression of knee osteoarthritis.Annals of the rheumatic diseases · 2023Pooled it
- Human studies of mitochondrial biology demonstrate an overall lack of binary sex differences: A multivariate meta-analysis.FASEB journal : official publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology · 2022Pooled it
- Trial
- High-throughput signal detection of hepatotoxic drug-drug interactions in hospitalized elderly patients: an NLP-driven pharmacovigilance study.Annals of medicine · 2026Article
- Review
- Mitochondrial insufficiencies and neuroprotection in glaucoma.International ophthalmology · 2026Review
- Review
- Association of leukocyte mitochondrial DNA copy number and inflammation with mortality among older adults.Communications medicine · 2026Article
- Associations of Blood Mitochondrial DNA Quality and Quantity with Risk of Kidney Function Decline.Clinical journal of the American Society of Nephrology : CJASN · 2026Article
- Age-related hearing loss involves mitochondrial DNA instability and copy number depletion in the cochlea: Insights from in vivo and in vitro models.Hearing research · 2026Article
- Delaying cardiac aging: potential mechanisms centered on PANoptosis and targeted intervention strategies.Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine · 2026Review
- Changes in nuclear and mitochondrial DNA methylation in cow blood associated with age and disease.Epigenetics · 2025Article
- Immunosenescence and organoids: pathophysiology and therapeutic opportunities.Immunity & ageing : I & A · 2025Review
- Astrocytes as Metabolic Sensors Orchestrating Energy-Driven Brain Vulnerability in Alzheimer's Disease.Journal of neurochemistry · 2025Review
- Tissue-Specific Mitochondrial Functionality and Mitochondrial-Related Gene Profiles in Response to Maternal Nutrition and One-Carbon Metabolite Supplementation During Early Pregnancy in Heifers.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2025Article
- Mitoepigenetic Targeting of Age-Related Dysfunction: Mechanisms, Therapeutic Avenues, and Transgenerational Implications.Aging advances · 2025Article
- Tipping the balance: innate and adaptive immunity in mitochondrial disease.Current opinion in immunology · 2025Review
- DJ-1 deficiency and aging: dual drivers of retinal mitochondrial dysfunction.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Twin pair analysis uncovers links between DNA methylation, mitochondrial DNA quantity and obesity.Nature communications · 2025Article
48 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThe accumulation of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations, and the reduction of mtDNA copy number, both disrupt mitochondrial energetics, and may contribute to aging and age-associated phenotypes. However, there are few genetic and epidemiological studies on the spectra of blood mtDNA heteroplasmies, and the distribution of mtDNA copy numbers in different age groups and their impact on age-related phenotypes. In this work, we used whole-genome sequencing data of isolated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from the UK10K project to investigate in parallel mtDNA heteroplasmy and copy number in 1511 women, between 17 and 85 years old, recruited in the TwinsUK cohorts.
resultsWe report a high prevalence of pathogenic mtDNA heteroplasmies in this population. We also find an increase in mtDNA heteroplasmies with age (β = 0.011, P = 5.77e-6), and showed that, on average, individuals aged 70-years or older had 58.5% more mtDNA heteroplasmies than those under 40-years old. Conversely, mtDNA copy number decreased by an average of 0.4 copies per year (β = -0.395, P = 0.0097). Multiple regression analyses also showed that age had independent effects on mtDNA copy number decrease and heteroplasmy accumulation. Finally, mtDNA copy number was positively associated with serum bicarbonate level (P = 4.46e-5), and inversely correlated with white blood cell count (P = 0.0006). Moreover, the aggregated heteroplasmy load was associated with blood apolipoprotein B level (P = 1.33e-5), linking the accumulation of mtDNA mutations to age-related physiological markers.
conclusionsOur population-based study indicates that both mtDNA quality and quantity are influenced by age. An open question for the future is whether interventions that would contribute to maintain optimal mtDNA copy number and prevent the expansion of heteroplasmy could promote healthy aging.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.