In Vitro effects of the reduced form of coenzyme Q10 on secretion levels of TNF-α and chemokines in response to LPS in the human monocytic cell line THP-1

Abstract

Ubiquinol-1O (QH2), the reduced form of Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) serves as a potent antioxidant of lipid membranes. Because many antioxidants reveal potent anti-inflammatory effects, the influence of QH2 on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines were determined in the human monocytic cell line THP-1. Stimulation of cells with LPS resulted in a distinct release of Tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), Macrophage inflammatory protein-1 alpha (MIP-1α), Regulated upon activation, normal T cell expressed and secreted (RANTES) and Monocyte chemotattractant protein-1 (MCP-1). The LPS-induced responses were significantly decreased by pre-incubation of cells with QH2 to 60.27 ± 9.3% (p = 0.0009), 48.13 ± 6.93% (p = 0.0007) and 74.36 ± 7.25% (p = 0.008) for TNF-α, MIP-1α and RANTES, respectively. In conclusion, our results indicate anti-inflammatory effects of the reduced form of CoQ10 on various proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines in vitro.