(GIST OF SCIENCE REPORTER) PARENTS BABY

(AUGUST-2025)

PARENTS BABY

Mitochondrial Replacement Treatment (MRT), a cutting-edge fertility method that combines the DNA of three people to stop the spread of inherited mitochondrial diseases, has resulted in the birth of at least eight children in the UK.

Key highlights:

The technique prevents severe and frequently fatal conditions associated with mitochondrial defects by substituting healthy mitochondria from a donor for defective ones in a mother’s egg.
These infants have a tiny amount of mitochondrial DNA from a female donor in addition to nuclear DNA from their biological parents.

Mitochondria

The double-membrane-bound organelles known as mitochondria are present in the cytoplasm of almost all eukaryotic cells.
They are commonly referred to as the “powerhouse of the cell” because they generate the majority of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the primary energy source for cellular events.

Mitochondrial diseases

During sexual reproduction, the father’s mtDNA is destroyed, and only the mother’s mtDNA is passed on to the offspring.
When a mother is homoplasmic for a pathogenic mutation, each and every one of her children will have the same mutation in their mtDNA.
A heteroplasmic mother’s offspring will have varying amounts of pathogenic, mutated mtDNA, with some mutated and some normal.
Though mtDNA diseases can differ greatly from patient to patient due to the intricacy of mitochondrial biology, they are frequently crippling, progressive, and early-life fatal.
Muscle weakness, extreme exhaustion, seizures, developmental delays, heart issues, and gastrointestinal disorders are typical signs of mtDNA disease.
Because these illnesses frequently exhibit symptoms that are similar to those of other conditions, diagnosis can be challenging, and testing necessitates an integrated approach that may involve genetic, metabolic, and muscle tests.

Mitochondrial Replacement Techniques

Mitochondrial replacement therapy (MRT) aims to prevent the transmission of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) disorders from mothers.
In vitro fertilisation (IVF) using MRT involves removing the intended mother’s nDNA from her oocyte or zygote, which contains mutated mtDNA, and transferring it into the oocyte or zygote of a female provider, which contains nonpathogenic mtDNA.
There should be no personal history, family history, or genetic proof of mutated, harmful mtDNA in the woman donating the oocytes.
By using these methods, intended mothers might be able to have a child who shares their nuclear DNA (nDNA) without inheriting their harmful mtDNA.
As a result, the mother, father, and donor woman all give their DNA to the child. Nevertheless, less than 1% of the child’s genetic makeup comes from the donor.