MT-CO1 expression in nine organs and tissues of different-aged MRL/lpr mice: Investigation of mitochondrial respiratory chain dysfunction at organ level in systemic lupus erythematosus pathogenesis

Objectives: mice aged six and 18 weeks. Materials and methods: mice (n=10) were considered old lupus model mice. Additionally, six-week-old (n=10) and 39-week-old (n=10) female Balb/c mice were used as the young and old controls, respectively. The messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) and protein expression levels of MT-CO1 in nine organs/tissues were detected via quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and Western blot. Malondialdehyde (MDA) levels were determined with thiobarbituric acid colorimetry. The correlation coefficient of MT-CO1 mRNA levels and MDA levels in each organ/tissue at different ages was analyzed by Pearson correlation analysis. Results: mice. Conclusion: Our study results suggest that lymphoid mitochondrial hyperfunction at organ level may be an important intrinsic pathogenesis in systemic lupus erythematosus activity, which may affect mitochondrial dysfunction in non-immune organs.