Link between amino acid and a range of common diseases could help predict personal risk

Damage or disruption to mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) – the powerhouse of cells – can cause or influence many common diseases but is there a link between mtDNA variants and increased risk of disease?

A study involving researchers from the Wellcome Sanger Institute, the University of Cambridge and EMBL’s European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI) indicates that yes, there is a link.

In this collaborative study, supported by the NIHR Cambridge BRC, researchers looked at mtDNA variants in two large-scale datasets, and found that higher levels of the amino acid N-formylmethionine (fMet) are associated with increased risk of a wide range of late-onset diseases including kidney disease and heart failure.

While further study is required, fMet seems to be a promising biomarker that could be used to better predict an individual’s risk of developing a wide range of common diseases and plan pre-emptive interventions.