Efficacy of coenzyme Q10 in mitigating spinal cord injury-induced osteoporosis

Abstract

Spinal cord injury (SCI)-induced osteoporosis may cause mild trauma to bone and increase the risk of bone fracture. The present study aimed to investigate the efficacy of coenzyme Q (CoQ10) on SCI-induced osteoporosis in rats. SCI was induced by surgical transection of the cord at the T10-12 level. Animals were treated with CoQ10 (10 mg/kg; intragastrically) daily from 12 h after the surgery and over 10 subsequent days. At the end of the experimental period, blood was collected from the animals and femurs and tibiae were removed for evaluation using biochemical assays. Treatment with CoQ10 prevented SCI-induced bone loss by rescuing the decreased levels of bone mineral density and bone mineral content observed in the SCI rats. Furthermore, CoQ10 administration reduced bone malondialdehyde levels with a concomitant increase in superoxide dismutase levels, thus alleviating SCI-induced oxidative injury. In addition, serum inflammatory cytokine levels were markedly increased in rats post-SCI, which was attenuated by treatment with CoQ10. Finally, the osteoclast-specific genes receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa-B ligand and cathepsin K were significantly upregulated and the osteoblast-specific gene core-binding factor alpha 1 in the femur was downregulated following SCI, which was effectively restored following treatment with CoQ10. The results suggested that CoQ10 treatment may be effective in attenuating SCI-induced osteoporosis.