IMR Press / FBL / Volume 28 / Issue 3 / DOI: 10.31083/j.fbl2803061
Open Access Review
Mitochondrial Coenzyme Q Redox Homeostasis and Reactive Oxygen Species Production
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1 Laboratory of Mitochondrial Biochemistry, Department of Bioenergetics, Adam Mickiewicz University, 61-614 Poznan, Poland
*Correspondence: wieslawa.jarmuszkiewicz@amu.edu.pl (Wieslawa Jarmuszkiewicz)
These authors contributed equally.
Front. Biosci. (Landmark Ed) 2023, 28(3), 61; https://doi.org/10.31083/j.fbl2803061
Submitted: 4 January 2023 | Revised: 22 February 2023 | Accepted: 3 March 2023 | Published: 23 March 2023
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mitochondrial Biology in Health and Disease)
Copyright: © 2023 The Author(s). Published by IMR Press.
This is an open access article under the CC BY 4.0 license.
Abstract

Mitochondrial coenzyme Q (mtQ) of the inner mitochondrial membrane is a redox active mobile carrier in the respiratory chain that transfers electrons between reducing dehydrogenases and oxidizing pathway(s). mtQ is also involved in mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (mtROS) formation through the mitochondrial respiratory chain. Some mtQ-binding sites related to the respiratory chain can directly form the superoxide anion from semiubiquinone radicals. On the other hand, reduced mtQ (ubiquinol, mtQH2) recycles other antioxidants and directly acts on free radicals, preventing oxidative modifications. The redox state of the mtQ pool is a central bioenergetic patameter that alters in response to changes in mitochondrial function. It reflects mitochondrial bioenergetic activity and mtROS formation level, and thus the oxidative stress associated with the mitochondria. Surprisingly, there are few studies describing a direct relationship between the mtQ redox state and mtROS production under physiological and pathological conditions. Here, we provide a first overview of what is known about the factors affecting mtQ redox homeostasis and its relationship to mtROS production. We have proposed that the level of reduction (the endogenous redox state) of mtQ may be a useful indirect marker to assess total mtROS formation. A higher mtQ reduction level (mtQH2/mtQtotal) indicates greater mtROS formation. The mtQ reduction level, and thus the mtROS formation, depends on the size of the mtQ pool and the activity of the mtQ-reducing and mtQH2-oxidizing pathway(s) of respiratory chain. We focus on a number of physiological and pathophysiological factors affecting the amount of mtQ and thus its redox homeostasis and mtROS production level.

Keywords
mitochondrial coenzyme Q (mtQ)
mtQ redox state
mtQ pool size
mtQ homeostasis
mtQ-reducing and QH2-oxidizing pathways
reactive oxygen species formation
Funding
2020/37/B/NZ1/01188/National Science Centre
2019/N/NZ1/01366/PRELUDIUM
Figures
Fig. 1.
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