Somatic mutations in the brain: relationship to aging?

Dana A.P. Evans*, Peter Burbach, Fred W. van Leeuwen

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

39 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Genetic instability is generally thought to underlie the process of aging and is predominantly associated with meiosis and mitosis. This review will discuss DNA damage and repair, somatic mutations and somatic recombination events in non-dividing neurons in relation to aging. In general it can be concluded that mutagenesis operates at high frequency in the brain. Present data do not provide clear evidence for accumulating DNA damage or a change in DNA repair activity in the brain with age. However, a linear age-related increase in frameshift mutations has been shown to occur in vasopressin neurons of the rat, revealing a novel post-mitotic mechanism.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)173-182
Number of pages10
JournalMutation Research DNAging
Volume338
Issue number1-6
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Oct 1995

Keywords

  • Brain
  • DNA damage
  • DNA repair
  • Neuron
  • Recombination
  • Somatic mutation
  • Vasopressin

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