Coenzyme Q and protein/lipid oxidation in a BSE-infected transgenic mouse model

Oxidative stress and antioxidants play an important role in neurodegenerative diseases. However, the exact participation of antioxidants in the evolution of prion diseases is still largely unknown. The aim of this study was to assess brain levels of coenzyme Q (CoQ), an endogenous lipophilic antioxidant, and the antioxidant/pro-oxidant status by determining oxidative damage to proteins and lipids after intracerebral bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) infection of transgenic mice expressing bovine prion protein (PrP). Our results indicate that, whereas the ratio between the two CoQ homologues present in mice (CoQ9 and CoQ10) is not altered by prion infection during the course of the disease, significant increases in total CoQ9 and CoQ10 were observed in BSE-infected mice 150 days after inoculation. This time point coincided with the first manifestation of PrPSc deposition in nervous tissue. In addition, CoQ9 and CoQ10 levels, neuropathological alterations, and PrPSc deposition in nervous tissues underwent further increases as the illness progressed. Lipid and protein oxidation were observed only at the final stage of the disease after clinical signs had appeared. These findings indicate upregulation of CoQ9- and CoQ10-dependent antioxidant systems in response to the increased oxidative stress induced by prion infection in nervous tissue. However, the induction of these endogenous antioxidant systems seems to be insufficient to prevent the development of the illness.