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Updated: Jun 12, 2026

Inner Mitochondrial Membrane Sensitivity to Na+ Reveals Partially Segmented Functional CoQ Pools
Published on: July 20, 2022
4-Nitrobenzoate inhibits coenzyme Q biosynthesis in mammalian cell cultures
Ulrika Forsman1, Mats Sjöberg, Mikael Turunen
1Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden.
Abstract:
Coenzyme Q (Q) is an electron transporter in the respiratory chain and a lipid-soluble antioxidant that decreases in humans with age. Here we show that 4-nitrobenzoate inhibited 4-hydroxybenzoate:polyprenyl transferase (Coq2) in a competitive manner and dose-dependently decreased Q in mammalian cells without accumulation of Q intermediates. As 4-nitrobenzoate neither interfered with mitochondrial respiration nor induced oxidative stress, it should prove a valuable tool for studies on both Q deficiency and Q supplementation.
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