title: Dietary pyrroloquinoline quinone: growth and immune response in BALB/c mice.
abstract: Pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ) is proposed as a nutritionally important growth factor, and we provide evidence that PQQ improves reproduction performance in BALB/c mice and stimulates neonatal growth. In the first experiment, weanling female BALB/c mice were adapted to a chemically-defined diet containing 0, 100, 200, 300, 1000, or 5000 ng PQQ/g of diet. The mice were bred and their reproductive performance and surviving offspring were assessed for 20-wk. Reproductive outcome was markedly compromised for the groups most deprived of PQQ. Supplemented groups (> or = 1000 ng PQQ/g diet) had 8 pups/litter compared with 4-5 pups/litter in the PQQ-deprived groups (< or = 300 ng PQQ/g diet). Of the pups surviving to weaning, 8 of 10 survived when PQQ was added to the diet (> or = 300 ng PQQ/g diet) compared with 4 of 10 in the PQQ/deficient group. The apparent requirement for PQQ for optimal growth of surviving neonates was estimated to be > or = 300 ng PQQ/g of diet. Moreover, splenic cell response to the mitogens concanavalin A and lipopolysaccharide, appeared related to PQQ intake. In a second experiment, female BALB/c mice were fed diets containing PQQ added at 0 or 1000 ng/g of diet, and interleukin 1 and 2 production were assessed. In particular, levels of interleukin 2, an autocrine and paracrine growth factor, were reduced in mice fed the deficient diet at a time when T-cell proliferation occurs in neonates. Results suggest that PQQ or similar compounds may play nutritionally important roles at critical stages in development.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutrition, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, University of California, Davis 95616.
authors.forename: F M
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Steinberg
authors.forename: M E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Gershwin
authors.forename: R B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Rucker
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn / Q000254:growth & development / Q000276:immunology; D004032:Diet; D005260:Female; D005298:Fertility / Q000187:drug effects; D005333:Fetus / Q000187:drug effects; D006128:Growth / Q000187:drug effects*; D007107:Immune System / Q000187:drug effects*; D007136:Immunoglobulins / Q000097:blood; D007375:Interleukin-1 / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000276:immunology; D007376:Interleukin-2 / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000276:immunology; D008098:Litter Size / Q000187:drug effects; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation / Q000187:drug effects; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D009929:Organ Size; D045542:PQQ Cofactor; D011247:Pregnancy; D015363:Quinolones / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000097:blood / Q000494:pharmacology*; D013154:Spleen / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D007136:Immunoglobulins; D007375:Interleukin-1; D007376:Interleukin-2; D015363:Quinolones; D045542:PQQ Cofactor