Document Type

Article

Publication Date

3-25-2024

Keywords

JMG, Male, Female, Mice, Animals, Antioxidants, Methylene Blue, Mice, Inbred C57BL, Oxidative Stress, Aging, Mitochondrial Diseases, Organophosphorus Compounds, Ubiquinone

JAX Source

Aging (Albany NY). 2024;16(6):4948-64.

ISSN

1945-4589

PMID

38535998

DOI

https://doi.org/10.18632/aging.205147

Grant

UO1-AG022308 to DEH

Abstract

Methylene blue (MB) is a well-established antioxidant that has been shown to improve mitochondrial function in both in vitro and in vivo settings. Mitoquinone (MitoQ) is a selective antioxidant that specifically targets mitochondria and effectively reduces the accumulation of reactive oxygen species. To investigate the effect of long-term administration of MB on skeletal morphology, we administered MB to aged (18 months old) female C57BL/J6 mice, as well as to adult male and female mice with a genetically diverse background (UM-HET3). Additionally, we used MitoQ as an alternative approach to target mitochondrial oxidative stress during aging in adult female and male UM-HET3 mice. Although we observed some beneficial effects of MB and MitoQ in vitro, the administration of these compounds in vivo did not alter the progression of age-induced bone loss. Specifically, treating 18-month-old female mice with MB for 6 or 12 months did not have an effect on age-related bone loss. Similarly, long-term treatment with MB from 7 to 22 months or with MitoQ from 4 to 22 months of age did not affect the morphology of cortical bone at the mid-diaphysis of the femur, trabecular bone at the distal-metaphysis of the femur, or trabecular bone at the lumbar vertebra-5 in UM-HET3 mice. Based on our findings, it appears that long-term treatment with MB or MitoQ alone, as a means to reduce skeletal oxidative stress, is insufficient to inhibit age-associated bone loss. This supports the notion that interventions solely with antioxidants may not provide adequate protection against skeletal aging.

Comments

This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

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