2. Academic Validation
  3. The effect of 5-aminolevulinic acid on cytochrome c oxidase activity in mouse liver

The effect of 5-aminolevulinic acid on cytochrome c oxidase activity in mouse liver

  • BMC Res Notes. 2011 Mar 17:4:66. doi: 10.1186/1756-0500-4-66.
Shun-Ichiro Ogura 1,  Kouji Maruyama,  Yuichiro Hagiya,  Yuta Sugiyama,  Kyoko Tsuchiya,  Kiwamu Takahashi,  Fuminori Abe,  Kenji Tabata,  Ichiro Okura,  Motowo Nakajima,  Tohru Tanaka
Affiliations

Affiliation

  • 1 Endowed Research Section (ALA), Frontier Research Center, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Yokohama, Japan. [email protected].
PMID: 21414200 DOI: 10.1186/1756-0500-4-66
Abstract

Background: 5-Aminolevulinic acid (ALA) is a precursor of heme that is fundamentally important in aerobic energy metabolism. Among the Enzymes involved in aerobic energy metabolism, cytochrome c oxidase (COX) is crucial. In this study, the effect of ALA on cytochrome c oxidase activity was measured.

Findings: c57BL/6N species of mice were administered ALA orally for 15 weeks. After ALA administration, mice were sacrificed and livers were obtained. COX activity in mitochondria from ALA-administered mouse livers was 1.5-fold higher than that in mitochondria from PBS-administered mouse livers (P < 0.05). Furthermore, ATP levels in ALA-administered mouse livers were much higher than those in PBS-administered mouse livers. These data suggest that oral administration of ALA promotes aerobic energy metabolism, especially COX activity.

Conclusions: This is the first report of a drug that functions in aerobic energy metabolism directly. Since COX activity is decreased in various diseases and aging, the pharmacological effects of ALA will be expanding.

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