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Updated: Mar 20, 2026

Assessing Mitochondrial Function in Sciatic Nerve by High-Resolution Respirometry
Published on: May 5, 2022
Analysis of mitochondrial alterations in Brazilian patients with sensorineural hearing loss using MALDI-TOF mass
Rogério Marins Alves1, Sueli Matilde da Silva Costa1, Paulo Mauricio do Amôr Divino Miranda1
1Center for Molecular and Genetic Engineering (CBMEG), University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Cidade Universitária Zeferino Vaz, Avenida Cândido Rondon 400, PO Box 6010, 13083-875, Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil.
Background:
Mutations in the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) have been associated with aminoglycoside-induced and nonsyndromic deafness in different populations. In the present study, we investigated the contribution of mutations in mitochondrial genes to the etiology of hearing loss in a Brazilian sample.
Methods:
Using mass spectrometry genotyping technology, combined with direct sequencing, 50 alterations previously described in 14 mitochondrial genes were screened in 152 patients with sensorineural hearing loss and in104 normal hearing controls.
Results:
Fifteen known mitochondrial alterations were detected (G709A, A735G, A827G, G988A, A1555G, T4363C, T5628C, T5655C, G5821A, C7462T, G8363A, T10454C, G12236A, T1291C, G15927A). Pathogenic mutations in MT-RNR1 and MT-TK genes were detected in 3 % (5/152) of the patients with hearing loss.
Conclusions:
This study contributed to show the spectrum of mitochondrial variants in Brazilian patients with hearing loss. Frequency of A1555G was relatively high (2.6 %), indicating that this mutation is an important cause of hearing loss in our population. This work reports for the first time the investigation and the detection of the tRNA(Lys) G8363A mutation in Brazilian patients with maternally inherited sensorineural hearing loss.

