Mitochondrial DNA mutations in Japanese patients with optic neuropathy unassociated with a mutation at nucleotide position 11,778.
We examined for mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations at nucleotide positions(nt) 3460, 14,484, 9438, 9804, and 15,257 in ten Japanese patients with idiopathic optic neuropathy unassociated with a mutation at nt11,778. The mtDNAs were amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), the products were digested with restriction enzymes, and the sizes of the fragments were analyzed on 8% polyacrylamide gel. Of the ten patients, one had an mtDNA mutation at nt3460 and another patient had a mutation at nt14,484. We suggest that mtDNA mutations in Japanese patients with optic neuropathy unassociated with a mutation at nt11,778 should be further investigated.