First mitochondrial transplant in six children shows promise
- January 1, 2023
- Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
- Category: DPN Topics
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First mitochondrial transplant in six children shows promise
Subject: Science and Technology
Context:
- In a world first, six children with a rare disorder caused by deletions in the genomes of their mitochondria– the cellular compartments essential for energy generation- have been successfully treated with donor mitochondria from their mother.
More on the news:
- Doctors transferred healthy mitochondria into the children’s haematopoietic stem cells, which give rise to blood cells.
About Mitochondrial replacement therapy (MRT):
- Mitochondrial replacement therapy (MRT), sometimes called mitochondrial donation, is the replacement of mitochondria in one or more cells to prevent or ameliorate disease.
- MRT originated as a special form of in vitro fertilisation in which some or all of the future baby’s mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) comes from a third party.
- This technique is used in cases when mothers carry genes for mitochondrial diseases.
- The therapy is approved for use in the United Kingdom.
- A second application is to use autologous mitochondria to replace mitochondria in damaged tissue to restore the tissue to a functional state.
- This has been used in clinical research in the United States to treat cardiac-compromised newborns.
What is Mitochondria?
- It was first described by a German pathologist named Richard Altmann in the year 1890.
- Popularly known as the “Powerhouse of the cell,”mitochondria are a double membrane-bound organelle found in most eukaryotic organisms.
- They are found inside the cytoplasm and essentially function as the cell’s “digestive system.”
- They play a major role in breaking down nutrients and generating energy-rich molecules for the cell.
- Many of the biochemical reactions involved in cellular respiration take place within the mitochondria.
Functions of Mitochondria:
- The most important function of mitochondria is to produce energy through the process of oxidative phosphorylation.
- It is also involved in the following process:
- Regulates the metabolic activity of the cell
- Promotes the growth of new cells and cell multiplication
- Helps in detoxifying ammonia in the liver cells
- Plays an important role in apoptosis or programmed cell death
- Responsible for building certain parts of the blood and various hormones like testosterone and oestrogen
- Helps in maintaining an adequate concentration of calcium ions within the compartments of the cell
- It is also involved in various cellular activities like cellular differentiation, cell signalling, cell senescence, controlling the cell cycle and also in cell growth.
- Mitochondrial diseases: Alpers Disease, Barth Syndrome, Kearns-Sayre syndrome (KSS).