Transmitochondrial mito-miceΔ and mtDNA mutator mice, but not aged mice, share the same spectrum of musculoskeletal disorders.

The spectra of phenotypes associated with aging and mitochondrial diseases sometimes appear to overlap with each other. We used aged mice and a mouse model of mitochondrial diseases (transmitochondrial mito-miceΔ with deleted mtDNA) to study whether premature aging phenotypes observed in mtDNA mutator mice are associated with aging or mitochondrial diseases. Here, we provide convincing evidence that all the mice examined had musculoskeletal disorders of osteoporosis and muscle atrophy, which correspond to phenotypes prevalently observed in the elderly. However, precise investigation of musculoskeletal disorders revealed that the spectra of osteoporosis and muscle atrophy phenotypes in mtDNA mutator mice were very close to those in mito-miceΔ, but different from those of aged mice. Therefore, mtDNA mutator mice and mito-miceΔ, but not aged mice, share the spectra of musculoskeletal disorders.