title: A comparative study into alterations of coenzyme Q redox status in ageing pigs, mice, and worms.
abstract: Coenzyme Q derivatives (CoQ) are lipid soluble antioxidants that are synthesized endogenously in almost all species and function as an obligatory cofactor of the respiratory chain. There is evidence that CoQ status is altered by age in several species. Here we determined level and redox-state of CoQ in different age groups of pigs, mice and Caenorhabditis elegans. Since these species are very different with respect to lifespan, reproduction and physiology, our approach could provide some general tendencies of CoQ status in ageing organisms. We found that CoQ level decreases with age in pigs and mice, whereas CoQ content increases in older worms. As observed in all three species, ubiquinone, the oxidized form of CoQ, increases with age. Additionally, we were able to show that supplementation of ubiquinol-10, the reduced form of human CoQ10 , slightly increases lifespan of post-reproductive worms. In conclusion, the percentage of the oxidized form of CoQ increases with age indicating higher oxidative stress or rather a decreased anti-oxidative capacity of aged animals.
authors.affiliation: Division of Molecular Prevention, Institute of Human Nutrition and Food Science, Christian Albrechts University Kiel, Kiel, Germany.
authors.forename: Simone
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Onur
authors.forename: Petra
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Niklowitz
authors.forename: Alexandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fischer
authors.forename: Cornelia C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Metges
authors.forename: Tilman
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Grune
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Menke
authors.forename: Gerald
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Rimbach
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Döring
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans; D005260:Female; D008099:Liver / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D018384:Oxidative Stress; D013045:Species Specificity; D034421:Sus scrofa; D014451:Ubiquinone / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D014451:Ubiquinone
keywords: anti-oxidative capacity; antioxidants; oxidative stress; ubiquinol; ubiquinone