Dietary CoQ10 improves megakaryocyte function and reduces platelet hyperreactivity in aging mice
The supplement boosted autophagy via COPS3, enhancing megakaryocyte maturation and polyploidization without altering baseline platelet counts.
In male C57BL/6J mice aged 1 to 23 months, 12 weeks of dietary coenzyme Q10 improved bone marrow megakaryocyte proliferation, maturation, and polyploidization. While CoQ10 did not change total platelet counts in naturally aged mice, it lowered platelet activation and aggregation. In megakaryocytes from treated 24-month-old mice, proteomic analysis revealed higher levels of COPS3 alongside shifts in autophagy markers LC3 and p62. Experiments in hydrogen peroxide-induced senescent MEG-01 cells confirmed that CoQ10 increased autophagic flux. Knocking down COPS3 in these cells weakened CoQ10-induced autophagy markers and partially reduced its beneficial effects on megakaryocyte maturation and polyploidization.
Why it matters
Age-related megakaryocyte dysfunction alters platelet behavior and can elevate thrombotic risk. Understanding how nutrients like CoQ10 regulate autophagy provides a pathway to explore interventions against age-associated platelet dysfunction.
Caveats
The study was conducted in male mice and cultured MEG-01 cells, so outcomes may not translate directly to humans. Additionally, COPS3 knockdown only partially reduced the effects, showing other molecular mechanisms are also involved.
- Bafilomycin A1
- Coenzyme Q10
- COPS3 knockdown
- Hydrogen peroxide
- LY294002
- Rapamycin
- Cellular senescence
- Disabled macroautophagy
- Autophagy
- PI3K–AKT signalling
- mTOR signalling
- COPS3
The paper
Dietary CoQ10 Ameliorates Age-Related Megakaryocyte Dysfunction via COPS3-Mediated Activation of Autophagy
Xu Y, Mao YH, Song F et al.
Aging Cell · 30 Sep 2026