Intergenerational and organ-specific alterations in mitochondrial DNA copy number following preconception irradiation.

ABSTRACT: Ionizing radiation, a potent inducer of redox stress, perturbs both nuclear and mitochondrial genomes, yet how such stress shapes mitochondrial inheritance across generations remains unclear. In this study, we examined intergenerational and organ-specific mitochondrial responses to parental X-ray irradiation in mice. Eight-week-old male and female C57BL/6N mice were exposed to 2 Gy of single whole-body X-ray irradiation before mating, generating paternal-, maternal-, and dual-irradiated lineages. In the parents, peripheral blood-derived mitochondrial DNA copy number (mtDNAcn) transiently increased one day after exposure, consistent with a rapid mitochondrial response to redox stress. In newborn offspring, mtDNAcn displayed clear organ- and parent-of-origin specificity: brain mtDNAcn decrea

SUBMITTER: Seino R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12906075 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature