Mitochondria Research Paper

Mitochondria are one of the most abundant organelles, which exercise various essential roles and function to all living things. Often time, this tremendous organelle is referred to as the powerhouse of the cell, due to their essential function in production of energy. The production of ATP, and regulation of intracellular calcium levels is also of great importance in the survival of neurons, which are cells in the brain, that make part of the Central Nervous System (CNS). Perpetual oxidative stress and damage to the Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), throughout aging process can causes deficiency to the metabolism energy, and ion exchange homeostasis, which result in degeneration of neurons. This mitochondrial abnormality is constantly seen in the
The mtDNA function in encoding vital subunits that are seen in the respiratory chain, where electron is able to combine with oxygen to allow the flow of energy through the mitochondria. When the mitochondrion is energized, its able to synthesize ATP, which has the ability to fuse energy dependent intracellular reactions (eg. endocytosis, ion transport, neurotransmitter biosynthesis), while sustaining vital for mitochondria. Some of these critical responsibilities include, calcium handling, ROS production as well as overall intracellular signaling. The mtDNA is also incapable of transmitting through the nuclear DNA (nDNA). In both human and various multicellular organism, the mtDNA, is inherited from the mother’s ovum exclusively, which mean that the mitochondria inheritance non-Mendelian. Quite interestingly, the mtDNA codes for eight percent of the mitochondrial RNA. In humans and animals, the mtDNA, is capable of forming moles that are closed circular, which contains approximately, 16,569 DNA base pairs. Each of these molecules, tend to include a complete set of mitochondrial gene. The mitochondrion, contains roughly, 3000 various types of protein. However, it seen that only 13 of these protein are coded within the mtDN. Any mutation that is induced in the mtDNA, will manifest into function problems. Slight alteration with any of the various enzymes that are associated
The mechanism for this is still poorly understood, and misleading as recent researches has shown (1). The DNA reliability is crucial the role in the normal cell growth and damage to the mitochondrial DNA can cause serious consequences. DNA damage can be caused by both endogenous, as seen in ROS, and exogenous due to environmental causes shch as ionizing radiation, and pesticides as sppen in 80% of sporadic PD. DNA modification tend to involve key types. The first type being principal being, the apyrimidic site, which cause the loss of a base, as a result of N-glycosil bond cleavage. Next, Deamination, which causes the loss of specific amino