Mitochondrial respiratory dysfunction disturbs neuronal and cardiac lineage commitment of human iPSCs

Cell Death Dis. 2017 Jan 12;8(1):e2551. doi: 10.1038/cddis.2016.484.

Abstract

Mitochondrial diseases are genetically heterogeneous and present a broad clinical spectrum among patients; in most cases, genetic determinants of mitochondrial diseases are heteroplasmic mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations. However, it is uncertain whether and how heteroplasmic mtDNA mutations affect particular cellular fate-determination processes, which are closely associated with the cell-type-specific pathophysiology of mitochondrial diseases. In this study, we established two isogenic induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) lines each carrying different proportions of a heteroplasmic m.3243A>G mutation from the same patient; one exhibited apparently normal and the other showed most likely impaired mitochondrial respiratory function. Low proportions of m.3243A>G exhibited no apparent molecular pathogenic influence on directed differentiation into neurons and cardiomyocytes, whereas high proportions of m.3243A>G showed both induced neuronal cell death and inhibited cardiac lineage commitment. Such neuronal and cardiac maturation defects were also confirmed using another patient-derived iPSC line carrying quite high proportion of m.3243A>G. In conclusion, mitochondrial respiratory dysfunction strongly inhibits maturation and survival of iPSC-derived neurons and cardiomyocytes; our presenting data also suggest that appropriate mitochondrial maturation actually contributes to cellular fate-determination processes during development.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Cell Differentiation / genetics
  • Cell Lineage / genetics
  • DNA, Mitochondrial / genetics*
  • Humans
  • Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells / cytology
  • Mitochondria / genetics*
  • Mitochondria / metabolism
  • Mitochondria / pathology
  • Mitochondrial Diseases / genetics*
  • Mitochondrial Diseases / metabolism
  • Mitochondrial Diseases / pathology
  • Mutation
  • Myocytes, Cardiac / metabolism*
  • Myocytes, Cardiac / pathology
  • Neurons / metabolism
  • Neurons / pathology

Substances

  • DNA, Mitochondrial