E-Mail
IMAGE: Image of a mitofusin-2 deficient egg shows mitochondria [stained green] to be fewer, more aggregated, and swollen than in controls
view more
Credit: Marcos Chiaratti
A Brazilian study published in the journal
Molecular Human Reproduction helps understand why obese mothers tend to have children with a propensity to develop metabolic disease during their lifetime, as suggested by previous research.
According to the authors, "transgenerational transmission of metabolic diseases" may be associated with Mfn2 deficiency in the mother's oocytes (immature eggs). Mfn2 refers to mitofusin-2, a protein involved in the regulation of vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation. It is normally found in the outer membrane of mitochondria, the organelles that supply cells with energy. A deficiency leads to mitochondrial swelling and dysfunction, as well as altering the expression of almost 1,000 genes in female gametes.