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Mitochondrial myopathies are types of
myopathies
In medicine, myopathy is a disease of the muscle in which the muscle fibers do not function properly. ''Myopathy'' means muscle disease (Greek language, Greek : myo- ''muscle'' + patheia ''pathos, -pathy'' : ''suffering''). This meaning implies t ...
associated with
mitochondrial disease
Mitochondrial disease is a group of disorders caused by mitochondrial dysfunction. Mitochondria are the organelles that generate energy for the cell and are found in every cell of the human body except red blood cells. They convert the energy o ...
. Adenosine triphosphate (
ATP), the chemical used to provide energy for the cell, cannot be produced sufficiently by
oxidative phosphorylation
Oxidative phosphorylation(UK , US : or electron transport-linked phosphorylation or terminal oxidation, is the metabolic pathway in which Cell (biology), cells use enzymes to Redox, oxidize nutrients, thereby releasing chemical energy in order ...
when the mitochondrion is either damaged or missing necessary enzymes or transport proteins. With ATP production deficient in mitochondria, there is an over-reliance on anaerobic glycolysis which leads to
lactic acidosis
Lactic acidosis refers to the process leading to the production of lactate by anaerobic metabolism. It increases hydrogen ion concentration tending to the state of acidemia or low pH. The result can be detected with high levels of lactate and lo ...
either at rest or exercise-induced.
Primary mitochondrial myopathies are inherited, while secondary mitochondrial myopathies may be inherited (e.g. Duchenne's muscular dystrophy)
or environmental (e.g. alcoholic myopathy
). When it is an inherited primary disease, it is one of the
metabolic myopathies.
On biopsy, the muscle tissue of patients with these diseases usually demonstrate "ragged red" muscle fibers on Gomori trichrome staining. The ragged-red appearance is due to a buildup of abnormal mitochondria underneath the plasma membrane. These ragged-red fibres may contain normal or abnormally increased accumulations of glycogen and neutral lipids, with histochemical staining showing abnormal respiratory chain involvement, such as decreased
succinate dehydrogenase
Succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) or succinate-coenzyme Q reductase (SQR) or respiratory complex II is an enzyme complex, found in many bacterial cells and in the inner mitochondrial membrane of eukaryotes. It is the only enzyme that participates ...
or
cytochrome c oxidase
The enzyme cytochrome c oxidase or Complex IV (was , now reclassified as a translocasEC 7.1.1.9 is a large transmembrane protein complex found in bacteria, archaea, and the mitochondria of eukaryotes.
It is the last enzyme in the Cellular respir ...
.
Inheritance was believed to be maternal (
non-Mendelian extranuclear). It is now known that certain nuclear DNA deletions can also cause mitochondrial myopathy such as the
OPA1
Dynamin-like 120 kDa protein, mitochondrial is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''OPA1'' gene. This protein regulates mitochondrial fusion and cristae structure in the inner mitochondrial membrane (IMM) and contributes to ATP synthesis ...
gene deletion.
Signs and symptoms
Proximal muscle weakness, exercise intolerance, lactic acidosis, high serum lactate/pyruvate ratio, normal to elevated serum CK, dyspnea, exaggerated cardiorespiratory response to exercise are common symptoms. It may be isolated to the muscle (pure myopathy) or may be systemic including not only myopathy, but also eye abnormalities, peripheral neuropathy, and neurological abnormalities. Muscle biopsy typically shows ragged-red fibres, histochemical staining shows abnormality of respiratory chain or decreased cytochrome c oxidase (COX).
The five most common are MELAS, MERF, KSS, CPEO, and MNGIE which are listed below:
*
(MELAS)
** Varying degrees of cognitive impairment and dementia
**
Lactic acidosis
Lactic acidosis refers to the process leading to the production of lactate by anaerobic metabolism. It increases hydrogen ion concentration tending to the state of acidemia or low pH. The result can be detected with high levels of lactate and lo ...
**
Stroke
Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...
s
**
Transient ischemic attacks
** Hearing loss
** Weight loss
*
Myoclonic epilepsy and ragged-red fibers (MERRF)
** Progressive myoclonic epilepsy
** Clumps of diseased mitochondria accumulate in muscle fibers and appear as "ragged-red fibers" when muscle is stained with modified
Gömöri trichrome stain
Gömöri trichrome stain is a histological stain used on muscle tissue.
It can be used to test for certain forms of mitochondrial myopathy
Mitochondrial myopathies are types of myopathy, myopathies associated with mitochondrial disease. Adeno ...
** Short stature
*
Kearns–Sayre syndrome
Kearns–Sayre syndrome (KSS), oculocraniosomatic disorder or oculocranionsomatic neuromuscular disorder with ragged red fibers is a mitochondrial myopathy with a typical onset before 20 years of age. KSS is a more severe syndromic variant of chr ...
(KSS)
** External
ophthalmoplegia
Ophthalmoparesis refers to weakness (-paresis) or paralysis (-plegia) of one or more extraocular muscles which are responsible for eye movements. It is a physical finding in certain neurologic, ophthalmologic, and endocrine disease.
Internal ...
** Cardiac conduction defects
**
Sensorineural hearing loss
Sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) is a type of hearing loss in which the root cause lies in the inner ear, sensory organ (cochlea and associated structures), or the vestibulocochlear nerve (Cranial nerves, cranial nerve VIII). SNHL accounts for a ...
*
Chronic progressive external ophthalmoplegia
Chronic progressive external ophthalmoplegia (CPEO) is a type of eye disorder characterized by slowly progressive inability to move the eyes and eyebrows. It is often the only feature of mitochondrial disease, in which case the term CPEO may be gi ...
(CPEO)
** Progressive
ophthalmoparesis
Ophthalmoparesis refers to weakness (-paresis) or paralysis (-plegia) of one or more extraocular muscles which are responsible for eye movements. It is a physical finding in certain neurologic, ophthalmologic, and endocrine disease.
Internal ...
** Symptomatic overlap with other mitochondrial myopathies
*
Mitochondrial neurogastrointestinal encephalopathy (MNGIE)
** Muscle weakness and atrophy, more prominent distally
**
Hyporeflexic or areflexic
** Ptosis and ophthalmoparesis common
** Gastrointestinal dysmotility (such as bloating, stomach cramps, diarrhea)
Cause

Mitochondrial myopathy literally means mitochondrial muscle disease, muscle disease caused by mitochondrial dysfunction. The mitochondrion is the primary producer of energy in nearly all cells throughout the body. The exception is mature erythrocytes (red blood cells), so that they do not use up the oxygen that they carry. In the eye, the lens and outer segment of the retina contain almost no mitochondria. Muscle cells have many mitochondria, particularly
type I muscle fibres, and if the mitochondria have problems by which they do not produce enough energy for the cell to function, problems occur.
The cause may be genetic, with many having mitochondrial inheritance (involving the mitochondrial DNA which is only passed on from the mother), although nuclear DNA mutations with Mendelian
inheritance
Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Offi ...
that are either autosomal dominant, recessive, or X-linked recessive also exist. A nuclear DNA example is a mutation within the POLG (polymerase gamma) gene, which causes
mitochondrial DNA
Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA and mDNA) is the DNA located in the mitochondrion, mitochondria organelles in a eukaryotic cell that converts chemical energy from food into adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mitochondrial DNA is a small portion of the D ...
(mtDNA) to become damaged and lose function.
Disease list
Diagnosis

Muscle biopsy: usually ragged red fibres in
Gömöri trichrome stain
Gömöri trichrome stain is a histological stain used on muscle tissue.
It can be used to test for certain forms of mitochondrial myopathy
Mitochondrial myopathies are types of myopathy, myopathies associated with mitochondrial disease. Adeno ...
, normal or excessive glycogen or lipid accumulation within these ragged red fibres, histochemical staining showing impairment of respiratory chain such as COX-negative fibres.
Some mitochondrial myopathies are limited to disease expression only in skeletal muscle, with fibroblasts (from skin biopsy) appearing normal.
Blood tests: lactate/pyruvate ratio may be elevated or normal, creatine kinase (CK) may be elevated or normal.
Electrolyte panel, anion gap, glucose, vitamin D,
TSH,
anti-HMGCR and
AChR autoantibodies to rule-out pseudometabolic myopathies.
Exercise stress test: exaggerated cardiorespiratory response to exercise (inappropriate rapid heart rate response to exercise with breathlessness
tachycardia">nowiki/>tachycardia and Shortness of breath">dyspnea
Shortness of breath (SOB), known as dyspnea (in AmE) or dyspnoea (in BrE), is an uncomfortable feeling of not being able to breathe well enough. The American Thoracic Society defines it as "a subjective experience of breathing discomfort that ...
]).
DNA tests: whole exome sequencing (Whole exome sequencing, WES) neuromuscular panels (that only test Exon, exons), or whole genome sequencing (Whole genome sequencing, WGS) for more complex cases (that test exons,
introns
An intron is any Nucleic acid sequence, nucleotide sequence within a gene that is not expressed or operative in the final RNA product. The word ''intron'' is derived from the term ''intragenic region'', i.e., a region inside a gene."The notion of ...
, and
mitochondrial DNA
Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA and mDNA) is the DNA located in the mitochondrion, mitochondria organelles in a eukaryotic cell that converts chemical energy from food into adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mitochondrial DNA is a small portion of the D ...
). Introns were initially thought to be "junk DNA," however, some introns regulate the expression of exons. For example, in the mitochondrial myopathy of
hereditary myopathy with lactic acidosis (HML), the most common pathogenic mutation is the intronic IVS5+382 G>C (rs767000507).
There are two groups of DNA that affect the mitochondria: mitochondrial genome (mtDNA) and nuclear DNA.
For mitochondrial myopathies that involve a single mtDNA deletion, it would only be found on muscle-derived mtDNA, making a biopsy of affected muscle necessary for DNA analysis rather than saliva or blood.
Even among siblings with the same inherited mutation, different muscle groups were affected, with unaffected tissues having near normal levels of mtDNA.
EMG: may be normal, myopathic, or rarely neurogenic.
The symptoms of exercise intolerance, abnormal muscle fatigue, myalgia (muscle pain), arrhythmia, possible fixed proximal muscle weakness, lipid deposits, possible episodes of rhabdomyolysis, with symptoms becoming evident or worsening while fasting, during a fever, during low-intensity aerobic activity or after prolonged activity–all these overlap with the symptoms of another metabolic myopathy, that of
fatty acid metabolism disorders.
DNA testing is helpful for determining between the similar presenting, but different in
bioenergetic system origin, metabolic myopathies. When DNA testing is inconclusive, a muscle biopsy is necessary.
Differential diagnosis
Diseases that mimic the symptoms of mitochondrial myopathy include electrolyte imbalance, myasthenia gravis, thyroid abnormalities, vitamin D deficiency, immune-mediated necrotizing myopathy, diabetes-related
pseudohypoxia, and fatty acid metabolism disorders.
Hypoxia due to ischemia (insufficient blood flow) also impairs oxidative phosphorylation, which can be seen in intermittent claudication, chronic venous insufficiency, and popliteal artery entrapment syndrome. If symptoms of muscle fatigue improve after approximately 10 minutes of low-moderate intensity aerobic exercise, or after approximately 10 minutes of rest following aerobic exercise, this would be indicative of the
second wind phenomenon seen in select muscle glycogenoses.
Ragged red fibres (a mitochondrial abnormality) can be found in a number of myopathies other than the inherited primary mitochondrial myopathies.
These include axonal
Charcot–Marie–Tooth disease
Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT) is an inherited neurological disorder that affects the peripheral nerves responsible for transmitting signals between the brain, spinal cord, and the rest of the body.
This is the most common inherited neuropath ...
types 2CC & 2EE,
congenital myasthenic syndrome
Congenital myasthenic syndrome (CMS) is an inherited neuromuscular disorder caused by defects of several types at the neuromuscular junction. The effects of the disease are similar to Lambert-Eaton Syndrome and myasthenia gravis, the difference ...
types 12 & 14,
congenital myopathy
Congenital myopathy is a very broad term for any muscle disorder present at birth. This defect primarily affects skeletal muscle fibres and causes muscular weakness and/or hypotonia. Congenital myopathies account for one of the top neuromuscular di ...
types 10B & 22A, and
MYH7
Myosin-7 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''MYH7'' gene.
It is the myosin heavy chain beta (MHC-β) isoform (slow twitch) expressed primarily in the heart, but also in skeletal muscles (type I fibers). This isoform is distinct from ...
-related myopathies such as Laing distal myopathy and myosin storage myopathy.
Secondary mitochondrial myopathy can be caused by natural aging,
inflammatory myopathies,
and chronic alcohol use disorder.
It can also be due to certain drugs such statins, bupivacaine, antiepileptic drugs (phenytoin, valproic acid, and lamotrigine), and nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (antiviral drugs) such as zidovudine and clevudine.
Some metabolic myopathies affect multiple bioenergetic pathways, for instance
multiple acyl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency (MADD), formerly known as glutaric acidemia type II (GA-II). The
ETF genes involved in MADD impairs beta oxidation (fatty acid metabolism), impairs amino acid catabolism (protein metabolism), and simultaneously impairs the respiratory chain by not transferring electrons from reduced FAD
+/FADH
2. The impaired protein metabolism leads to a buildup of glutaric acid and other acids. Fatty acid metabolism is further impaired as carnitine is used to detoxify the buildup of glutaric acid, causing
secondary carnitine deficiency.
Although MADD affects multiple bioenergetic pathways, it is classified as a fatty acid metabolism disorder as that is the bioenergetic pathway that is affected the most by the deficiency. However, it is important to note as a differential diagnosis as not only do the symptoms overlap with mitochondrial myopathies, but also muscle biopsies of some individuals with MADD show COX-negative fibres, respiratory chain impairment, and deficiency of coenzyme Q
10. Some forms of MADD respond well to riboflavin (vitamin B2), known as riboflavin-responsive MADD (RR-MADD).
Riboflavin-responsive exercise intolerance (RREI), a fatty acid metabolism disorder involving the
SLC25A32 gene, has symptoms similar to MADD, with muscle biopsy showing ragged red fibres and lipid deposits (mainly in type I fibres), small type II fibres, and impaired FAD-dependent mitochondrial respiratory chain.
Myopathies involving abnormal autophagy, including abnormal
mitophagy
Mitophagy is the selective degradation of mitochondria by autophagy. It often occurs to defective mitochondria following damage or stress. The process of mitophagy was first described in 1915 by Margaret Reed Lewis and Warren Harmon Lewis. Ashford ...
, may present with secondary impaired fatty acid metabolism and/or mitochondrial defects in skeletal muscles, may have wide phenotypic variability, and may affect multiple other organs. For instance, EPG5-related
Vici syndrome and
TANGO2-related disease.
TANGO2-related disease is at least partially responsive to B vitamin supplementations of panthotenic acid (B5) and folate (B9).
Pompe disease (glycogen storage disease type II), another type of metabolic myopathy, has secondary mitochondrial dysfunction present in both the earlier onset forms (infantile and juvenile) and the late-onset form in adults.
Myopathies involving the
DMD gene, such as
Duchenne and
Becker muscular dystrophy, have secondary mitochondrial dysfunction impairing oxidative phosphorylation.
The mechanisms leading to this mitochondrial dysfunction are many and it has yet to be elucidated which mitochondrial changes are directly due to the disease and which are compensatory.
Three unrelated young boys, with a mutation in the DMD gene, exhibited a pseudometabolic presentation with symptoms of exercise intolerance manifesting as exercise-induced myalgia, muscle stiffness, myoglobinuria and rhabdomyolysis.
A few
Limb–girdle muscular dystrophies are known to have secondary mitochondrial dysfunction, including: LGMDR1 calpain3-related (''formerly LGMD 2A''), LGMDR2 dysferlin-related (''LGMD 2B''), LGMDR3 α-sarcoglycan-related (''LGMD 2D''), LGMDR5 γ-sarcoglycan-related (''LGMD 2C''), and LGMDR6 δ-sarcoglycan-related (''LGMD 2F'').
As well as Myofibrillar myopathy 8 (MFM8) PYROXD1-related, which has an adult-onset, slowly progressive, Limb–girdle phenotype.
MICU1-related myopathy with extrapyramidal signs has disrupted calcium uptake causing secondary mitochondrial dysfunction. It has variable myopathic features as well as eye and neurological symptoms.
Treatment
Although no cure currently exists, there is hope in treatment for this class of
hereditary disease
A genetic disorder is a health problem caused by one or more abnormalities in the genome. It can be caused by a mutation in a single gene (monogenic) or multiple genes (polygenic) or by a chromosome abnormality. Although polygenic disorders are ...
s as trials continue.
Aerobic training may improve oxidative capacity by the skeletal muscles becoming
aerobically conditioned. Deoxynucleoside monophosphates and deoxynucleotide taken orally, may help in TK2 deficiency (Mitochondrial DNA depletion syndrome 2 myopathic type).
Avoiding physically stressful situations that deplete glycogen reserves, such as fasting and endurance exercise (which rely predominantly on oxidative phosphorylation), may help. A high-carb/low-fat/low-protein diet may help.
See also
*
Bioenergetic systems
Bioenergetic systems are metabolic processes that relate to the flow of energy in living organisms. Those processes convert energy into adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which is the form suitable for muscular activity. There are two main forms of ...
*
Metabolic myopathies
References
External links
{{Disorders of TCA and ETC
Myoneural junction and neuromuscular diseases
Mitochondrial diseases