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MOLECULAR GENETICS

A role for mitochondrial DNA in cellular proteostasis

Nature Reviews Genetics volume 22, page 690 (2021)Cite this article

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Variants in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) are known to affect the risk of several age-associated diseases; however, the mechanisms underlying this link were unknown. A recent report shows that common mtDNA variants influence cellular protein homeostasis, also known as proteostasis, by modulating circulating levels of N-formylmethionine (fMet), the initiating amino acid in mitochondrial, but not cytosolic, protein synthesis. The study also highlights deep molecular phenotyping as an effective and hypothesis-generating means of identifying mechanisms linking common variants and disease risk.

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    Caroline Barranco

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  1. Caroline Barranco
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Correspondence to Caroline Barranco.

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Barranco, C. A role for mitochondrial DNA in cellular proteostasis. Nat Rev Genet 22, 690 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41576-021-00418-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41576-021-00418-9

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