Methodological influences on circulating cell-free-mitochondrial and nuclear DNA concentrations in response to chronic stress.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Mitochondria are versatile eukaryotic organelles that play a crucial role in the body's stress response. Prolonged stress exposure can cause structural and functional alterations, leading to mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) damage and subsequent release of mtDNA into the circulation. Cell-free circulating mtDNA (ccf-mtDNA) is a potential biomarker indicating cellular damage and stress. In this study we investigated the applicability of ccf-mtDNA and cf-nDNA as biomarkers of chronic stress in healthy subjects.

Methods and results

We developed a quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) assay to directly measure ccf-mtDNA in human blood plasma samples, addressing numerous challenges specifically related to ccf-mtDNA quantification. We validated our 68 bp target assay b

SUBMITTER: Daubermann C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11906544 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature