# Coenzyme Q10 Ameliorates Chemotherapy-Induced Neurotoxicity in iPSC-Derived Neurons by Reducing Oxidative Stress

## TL;DR

Coenzyme Q10 helps protect neurons from chemotherapy damage by reducing oxidative stress, according to a study using lab-grown neurons.

## Contribution

This is the first study to use iPSC-derived neurons to show CoQ10's protective effects against chemotherapy-induced neurotoxicity.

## Key findings

- CoQ10 reversed reduced cell viability in neurons exposed to five chemotherapeutic agents.
- CoQ10 lowered intracellular ROS levels and improved mitochondrial membrane potential in a dose-dependent manner.
- The protective effects of CoQ10 were observed across different chemotherapy drugs and concentrations.

## Abstract

Chemotherapy-induced neurotoxicity (CIN) is a major barrier against optimal anticancer treatment. This study investigated the neuroprotective effects of the naturally occurring antioxidant, Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), against CIN using a model of induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived neurons. iPSCs have consistently proven to be reliable for disease modeling and drug discovery. We employed cell viability, oxidative stress, and mitochondrial function assays to measure the effect of 10 μM CoQ10 on iPSC-derived motor neuron progenitors (iPSC-MNPs) that were exposed to five chemotherapeutic agents: 5-Fluorouracil, methotrexate, paclitaxel (0, 1, and 10 μM) and doxorubicin, and vincristine (0, 0.1, and 1 μM). Our findings show that CoQ10 significantly reversed the reduction in cell viability inflicted by the exposure of iPSCs-MNPs to all five chemotherapeutics. Moreover, CoQ10 treatment resulted in a marked reduction in intracellular ROS levels and enhancement of mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) in a drug- and dose-dependent manners, highlighting its role in preserving mitochondrial health. This study is the first to explore the protective effects of CoQ10 against CIN using an iPSC-derived neuronal platform, offering insights into its potential therapeutic use. Further investigation is essential to validate these findings and to determine the behavioral effects of CoQ10 in in vivo models of CIN.