Coenzyme Q Deficiencies: Pathways in Yeast and Humans

Overview

Journal Essays Biochem

Specialty Biochemistry

Date 2018 Jul 8

PMID 29980630

Citations 57

Authors

Agape M Awad

Michelle C Bradley

Lucia Fernandez-Del-Rio

Anish Nag

Hui S Tsui

Catherine F Clarke

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Coenzyme Q (ubiquinone or CoQ) is an essential lipid that plays a role in mitochondrial respiratory electron transport and serves as an important antioxidant. In human and yeast cells, CoQ synthesis derives from aromatic ring precursors and the isoprene biosynthetic pathway. mutants provide a powerful model for our understanding of CoQ biosynthesis. This review focusses on the biosynthesis of CoQ in yeast and the relevance of this model to CoQ biosynthesis in human cells. The yeast genes are required for efficient biosynthesis of yeast CoQ. Expression of human homologs of yeast genes restore CoQ biosynthesis in the corresponding yeast mutants, indicating profound functional conservation. Thus, yeast provides a simple yet effective model to investigate and define the function and possible pathology of human (yeast or human gene involved in CoQ biosynthesis) gene polymorphisms and mutations. Biosynthesis of CoQ in yeast and human cells depends on high molecular mass multisubunit complexes consisting of several of the gene products, as well as CoQ itself and CoQ intermediates. The CoQ synthome in yeast or Complex Q in human cells, is essential for biosynthesis of CoQ. Although some human CoQ deficiencies respond to dietary supplementation with CoQ, in general the uptake and assimilation of this very hydrophobic lipid is inefficient. Simple natural products may serve as alternate ring precursors in CoQ biosynthesis in both yeast and human cells, and these compounds may act to enhance biosynthesis of CoQ or may bypass certain deficient steps in the CoQ biosynthetic pathway.

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