Secondary coenzyme Q10 deficiencies in oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) and non-OXPHOS disorders.

We evaluated the coenzyme Q10 (CoQ) levels in patients who were diagnosed with mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) and non-OXPHOS disorders (n=72). Data from the 72 cases in this study revealed that 44.4% of patients showed low CoQ concentrations in either their skeletal muscle or skin fibroblasts. Our findings suggest that secondary CoQ deficiency is a common finding in OXPHOS and non-OXPHOS disorders. We hypothesize that cases of CoQ deficiency associated with OXPHOS defects could be an adaptive mechanism to maintain a balanced OXPHOS, although the mechanisms explaining these deficiencies and the pathophysiological role of secondary CoQ deficiency deserves further investigation.