ArticleAutophagy2017
MitoQ regulates autophagy by inducing a pseudo-mitochondrial membrane potential.
Article in Autophagy, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 39 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
39 citing papers in PubMed, 77 citations in OpenAlex.
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- Electrical Signals at the Subcellular Scale: How Electroactive Materials Regulate Stem Cell Fate.Advanced materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.) · 2026Review
- Biomimetic nanoplatforms modulating mitochondrial pathways in IVDD.Journal of nanobiotechnology · 2026Article
- Recent advances in tendon redox biology: the interplay of oxidative stress, calcium signaling, and antioxidant defence mechanisms.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2026Review
- A mitochondria-targeted fluoropolymer nanoparticle with inherent mitophagy-inducing and red fluorescence properties for treatment of atherosclerosis.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Mitochondrial Reactive Oxygen Species (mROS) Generation and Cancer:International journal of nanomedicine · 2025Review
- Mitochondria-targeted antioxidant MitoQ radiosensitizes tumors by decreasing mitochondrial oxygen consumption.Cell death discovery · 2024Article
- Non-pathogenic Trojan horseMaterials today. Bio · 2024Article
- Article
- Phase separation of SHP2E76K promotes malignant transformation of mesenchymal stem cells by activating mitochondrial complexes.JCI insight · 2024Article
- TRIM28-Mediated Excessive Oxidative Stress Induces Cellular Senescence in Granulosa Cells and Contributes to Premature Ovarian Insufficiency In Vitro and In Vivo.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Systems-level analyses dissociate genetic regulators of reactive oxygen species and energy production.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2024Article
- TRIM45 aggravates microglia pyroptosis via Atg5/NLRP3 axis in septic encephalopathy.Journal of neuroinflammation · 2023Article
- Systems-level analyses dissociate genetic regulators of reactive oxygen species and energy production.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2023Article
- Multifaceted functions of Drp1 in hypoxia/ischemia-induced mitochondrial quality imbalance: from regulatory mechanism to targeted therapeutic strategy.Military Medical Research · 2023Review
- Redox-crippled MitoQ potently inhibits breast cancer and glioma cell proliferation: A negative control for verifying the antioxidant mechanism of MitoQ in cancer and other oxidative pathologies.Free radical biology & medicine · 2023Article
- Endurance training and MitoQ supplementation improve spatial memory, VEGF expression, and neurogenic factors in hippocampal tissue of rats.Journal of clinical and translational research · 2023Article
- Mitochondrial-Targeted Antioxidant MitoQ-Mediated Autophagy: A Novel Strategy for Precise Radiation Protection.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Review
- Exploring Nrf2 as a therapeutic target in testicular dysfunction.Cell and tissue research · 2022Review
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Authors and funding
11 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
During the process of oxidative phosphorylation, protons are pumped into the mitochondrial intermembrane space to establish a mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP). The electrochemical gradient generated allows protons to return to the matrix through the ATP synthase complex and generates ATP in the process. MitoQ is a lipophilic cationic drug that is adsorbed to the inner mitochondrial membrane; however, the cationic moiety of MitoQ remains in the intermembrane space. We found that the positive charges in MitoQ inhibited the activity of respiratory chain complexes I, III, and IV, reduced proton production, and decreased oxygen consumption. Therefore, a pseudo-MMP (PMMP) was formed via maintenance of exogenous positive charges. Proton backflow was severely impaired, leading to a decrease in ATP production and an increase in AMP production. Excess AMP activates AMP kinase, which inhibits the MTOR (mechanistic target of rapamycin) pathway and induces macroautophagy/autophagy. Therefore, we conclude that MitoQ increases PMMP via proton displacement with exogenous positive charges. In addition, PMMP triggered autophagy in hepatocellular carcinoma HepG2 cells via modification of mitochondrial bioenergetics pathways.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.