Skip to main content
. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2009 Jul 16.
Published in final edited form as: Nat Rev Neurosci. 2008 Jul;9(7):505–518. doi: 10.1038/nrn2417

Figure 5. Gene shift and exercise.

Figure 5

Model of how exercise might reduce the prevalence of mtDNA point mutations in muscle cells through gene shift. Satellite cells, undifferentiated cells found in mature muscle, possess wild-type mtDNA. Exercise stimulates differentiation and growth of satellite cells. When wild-type satellite cells fuse with muscle cells carrying mtDNA point mutations, mitochondria mix and fuse. Fusion of mitochondria allows wild-type mtDNA from satellite cells to compensate for mutant mtDNA, decreasing the prevalence of mtDNA mutations.