Leber hereditary optic neuropathy and oxidative stress

Relatively little progress has been made in developing therapies for mitochondrial diseases in modern medicine as a result of the exquisite complexity of the structural proteins and pathways associated with mitochondrial functions and our incomplete understanding of pathophysiology (1). Leber hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON), in particular, provides a unique model for understanding molecular mechanism and testing promising treatments as a result of its characteristic sequential bilateral involvement and accessibility of retina as the target tissue within the eye. Lin et al. report the establishment of an Leber hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON) mouse model by introducing a mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutation (2).