title: The effect of 5-aminolevulinic acid on cytochrome c oxidase activity in mouse liver.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  5-Aminolevulinic acid (ALA) is a precursor of heme that is fundamentally important in aerobic energy metabolism. Among the enzymes involved in aerobic energy metabolism, cytochrome c oxidase (COX) is crucial. In this study, the effect of ALA on cytochrome c oxidase activity was measured.
  
  
  RESULTS
  c57BL/6N species of mice were administered ALA orally for 15 weeks. After ALA administration, mice were sacrificed and livers were obtained. COX activity in mitochondria from ALA-administered mouse livers was 1.5-fold higher than that in mitochondria from PBS-administered mouse livers (P < 0.05). Furthermore, ATP levels in ALA-administered mouse livers were much higher than those in PBS-administered mouse livers. These data suggest that oral administration of ALA promotes aerobic energy metabolism, especially COX activity.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This is the first report of a drug that functions in aerobic energy metabolism directly. Since COX activity is decreased in various diseases and aging, the pharmacological effects of ALA will be expanding.
authors.affiliation: Endowed Research Section (ALA), Frontier Research Center, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Yokohama, Japan. sogura@bio.titech.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Shun-Ichiro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ogura
authors.forename: Kouji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Maruyama
authors.forename: Yuichiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hagiya
authors.forename: Yuta
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sugiyama
authors.forename: Kyoko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tsuchiya
authors.forename: Kiwamu
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.forename: Fuminori
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Abe
authors.forename: Kenji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tabata
authors.forename: Ichiro
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Okura
authors.forename: Motowo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nakajima
authors.forename: Tohru
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tanaka