Can mitochondrial dysfunction be a predictive factor for oxidative stress in patients with obstructive sleep apnea?

Abstract

Mitochondrial dysfunction reflects a lifelong cumulative burden of cellular

damage, and a decrease in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) copy number is associated

with oxidative stress and chronic inflammation. The goal of this study was to

assess whether mitochondrial dysfunction and a decrease in mtDNA copy number are

common features of patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSA). We

compared mtDNA copy number between 20 healthy volunteers and 20 patients with OSA

and investigated whether a significant attenuation of mtDNA copy number was

observed in genomic DNA isolated from whole blood of OSA patients. Our

observations lead to the hypothesis that mtDNA copy number is lower in whole

blood DNA of OSA subjects and might be related to OSA severity, reflecting

excessive oxidative stress in patients with OSA.