Pyrroloquinoline Quinone, a Redox-Active o-Quinone, Stimulates Mitochondrial Biogenesis by Activating the SIRT1/PGC-1α Signaling Pathway.

Pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ), a redox-active o-quinone found in various foods and mammalian tissues, has received an increasing amount of attention because of a number of health benefits that can be attributed to its ability to enhance mitochondrial biogenesis. However, its underlying molecular mechanism remains incompletely understood. We have now established that the exposure of mouse NIH/3T3 fibroblasts to a physiologically relevant concentration of PQQ significantly stimulates mitochondrial biogenesis. The exposure of NIH/3T3 cells to 10-100 nM PQQ for 48 h resulted in increased levels of Mitotracker staining, mitochondrial DNA content, and mitochondrially encoded cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (MTCO1) protein. Moreover, we observed that PQQ treatment induces deacetylation of the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ-coactivator 1α (PGC-1α) and facilitates its nuclear translocation and target gene expression but does not affect its protein levels, implying increased activity of the NAD