Effect of Resveratrol on Cultured Skin Fibroblasts from Patients with Oxidative Phosphorylation Defects

Few therapeutic options are available to patients with oxidative phosphorylation disorders. Administering
pharmacological agents that are able to stimulate mitochondrial biogenesis have been put forward as a possible
treatment, yet the approach remains in need of thorough testing. We investigated the effect of resveratrol in an
in vitro setting. Mitochondrial enzymatic activities were tested in cultured skin fibroblasts from patients harboring
a nuclear defect in either complex II or complex IV (n = 11), and in fibroblasts from healthy controls (n = 11). In
the latter, preincubation with resveratrol resulted in a significant increase of citrate synthase, complex II and
complex IV enzyme activity. In patients with complex II or complex IV deficiency, however, activity of the
deficient complex could not be substantially augmented, and response was dependent upon the residual
activity. We conclude that resveratrol is not capable of normalizing oxidative phosphorylation activities in
deficient cell lines.

Jaar van publicatie:2014

Trefwoorden:oxidative phosphorylation, resveratrol, mitochondrial biogenesis